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"content": "\u003cp>From planetology to paleontology, 2015 was full of news in the Earth sciences. Ace this 20-question quiz and you’ll have plenty of planetary tidbits from KQED Science to quick-turn an awkward conversation at your holiday table. Who doesn’t need that?\u003c/p>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>It’s the ultimate selfie: NASA launched this satellite that hovers between Earth and the Sun, taking snapshots of the whole planet about 15 times a day. Do you know its name?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Scientists reported that the ash from some volcanoes contains abundant spherules — glassy droplets as fine as powder — that don’t arise from the splashing and explosions of lava. What makes them instead?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Sediments in the bottom of a rare sinkhole show that a very large tsunami, triggered by a magnitude-9 quake in Alaska, struck this state about 500 years ago. What state is that?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>A study showed that the coral-sand islands of the Maldives are maintained by the activity of parrotfish. What do the fish do?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Researchers found that parts of Mars contain hydrated minerals, as well as dark streaks in the ground that appear during the Martian summer. What did they conclude?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Last month, the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rose above a round number and will not go back below it in the foreseeable future. What is that number?\u003c/li>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_29853\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-29853\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/04/Daisy-parrotfish-wikimedia.jpg\" alt=\"Daisy Parrotfish in the Maldives\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Species like the daisy parrotfish \u003ci>Chlorurus sordidus\u003c/i>, are a crucial link in the natural chain that builds dry land in the Maldives archipelago. \u003ccite>(Julien Bidet/Wikimedia)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cli>Two groups of scientists called for research programs to study the invisible ecosystems of microscopic organisms found everywhere we look. What’s the name for those ecosystems?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Early this year a spacecraft named MESSENGER ended several years of planetary observations by crashing into its target. What is that planet?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft sent back images of high mountain ranges, plus what look like volcanoes and glaciers, on a place it took more than 9 years to reach. What is that distant world?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>A fossil study proposed that the ancient soft-bodied creatures called Ediacarans went extinct when newly evolved animals ruined their habitat. What scientist first proposed this kind of extinction?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>In December, NOAA reported that the previous month was the warmest November ever recorded. How many record-breaking months in a row did that make?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>A new National Monument was established in northern California that displays signs of dramatic geologic activity including the clash of tectonic plates, volcanic eruptions and the wrenching of modern earthquake faults. Do you know its name?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>True or false? A strong El Niño has been active since early summer.\u003c/li>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_104383\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-104383\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/07/Wendiceratops_live-800x656.jpg\" alt=\"Head of Wendiceratops\" width=\"800\" height=\"656\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/07/Wendiceratops_live-800x656.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/07/Wendiceratops_live-400x328.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/07/Wendiceratops_live-960x787.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/07/Wendiceratops_live.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u003ci>Wendiceratops pinhornensis\u003c/i>, as reconstructed by scientific illustrator \u003ca href=\"http://www.ddufault.com/paleo.html\">Danielle Dufault\u003c/a> for the Royal Ontario Museum \u003ccite>(Danielle Dufault/PLOS)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cli>Fossils of a three-horned dinosaur with a flamboyant bony frill behind its head were found in a Canadian park and assigned the name \u003ci>Wendiceratops pinhornensis\u003c/i>. Why that name?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>After an earthquake rips the ground, you can walk around the fresh geological evidence taking snapshots, and scientists can turn those images into an accurate 3D model. What’s the name of that technique?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>A widely used record of the Sun’s historical activity was revised, erasing an apparent increase in solar energy that some researchers used to argue against greenhouse warming. What is that record?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Researchers showed that the Hayward fault is closely connected to a neighboring fault, making it more likely than previously thought that both can rupture together in an earthquake the size of 1906’s Big One. What’s the second fault?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Clever observations by a spacecraft peeking through dense clouds yielded conclusive evidence of volcanoes caught in the act of erupting. What planet was this?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>After 100 years of guessing, a fossil study of stegosaurs — those big dinosaurs with the rows of bony plates down their backs — found a way to tell the males and females apart. What is it?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>The U.S. Geological Survey updated its long-term earthquake forecast this year. Which Bay Area earthquake fault is considered most likely to cause a major quake over the next few decades?\u003c/li>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Here are the answers, each linked to its KQED Science story.\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/10/20/nasas-new-snapshots-of-earth-from-a-satellite-far-far-away\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The “selfie satellite” is DSCOVR\u003c/a>, or Deep Space Climate Observatory.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/03/05/volcanoes-and-lightning-make-tiny-glass-balls-together/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The new variety of spherule is made\u003c/a> when lightning lashes the ash-filled clouds above erupting volcanoes.\u003c/li>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_27883\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-27883\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/03/galunggung-lightning-usgs.jpg\" alt=\"Volcanic lightning can melt ash into tiny spheres of glass\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Volcanic lightning lashes the eruption cloud over Galunggung, in Indonesia, in this 1984 photo. This discharge of energy creates abundant tiny spheres of melted rock that mix with the ash as it settles earthward and enters the geologic cycle. \u003ccite>(U.S. Geological Survey)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/03/09/ancient-sinkhole-could-presage-mega-tsunami-for-hawaii/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hawaii is the state\u003c/a>, and the Makauwahi sinkhole in Kauai has the evidence.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/05/01/fish-help-build-coral-reef-islands/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The parrotfish manufacture sand for the Maldives islands\u003c/a> by crunching on large corals and pooping out the grit.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/09/28/reports-nasa-to-announce-water-flows-on-mars-watch-live/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NASA scientists announced\u003c/a> they had “the strongest evidence yet that liquid water flows intermittently on present-day Mars.”\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/11/19/co2-earth-passes-into-uncharted-territory/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">In mid-November the CO\u003csub>2\u003c/sub> level\u003c/a> at the standard observatory in Hawaii exceeded 400 parts per million, for good.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/11/05/whats-left-to-discover-about-microbes-pretty-much-everything/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">These worlds of microbes\u003c/a>, found in soils, our skins and our digestive tracts, are called microbiomes.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/04/03/nasas-messenger-spacecraft-preparing-its-farewell-message-from-mercury/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The planet was Mercury\u003c/a>, the one nearest to the Sun.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/11/27/ice-volcanoes-on-pluto-whats-next/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New Horizons found volcanoes of ice water\u003c/a> and glaciers of solid nitrogen on the dwarf planet Pluto.\u003c/li>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_281380\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-281380\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/P_COLOR2_enhanced_release-800x800.jpg\" alt=\"New Horizons' high-resolution color-enhanced portrait of Pluto exaggerated colors showing variations in surface composition and terrain.\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/P_COLOR2_enhanced_release-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/P_COLOR2_enhanced_release-400x400.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/P_COLOR2_enhanced_release-960x960.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/P_COLOR2_enhanced_release-32x32.jpg 32w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/P_COLOR2_enhanced_release-64x64.jpg 64w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/P_COLOR2_enhanced_release-96x96.jpg 96w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/P_COLOR2_enhanced_release-128x128.jpg 128w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/P_COLOR2_enhanced_release-75x75.jpg 75w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/P_COLOR2_enhanced_release.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">New Horizons’ high-resolution color-enhanced portrait of Pluto, exaggerated colors showing variations in surface composition and terrain. \u003ccite>(NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/09/11/mass-extinctions-the-case-of-the-vanishing-ediacarans/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Unlike other mass extinctions\u003c/a>, which had catastrophic causes, the Ediacaran mass extinction is the first example ever found of “biotic replacement,” the mechanism proposed in 1859 by Charles Darwin.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/12/17/november-was-record-warm-month-for-globe-extending-streak/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">In 2015, November was the seventh month in a row\u003c/a> that was the warmest on record.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/07/16/geologic-highlights-of-californias-new-national-monument/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The new park, in the heart of the Coast Range\u003c/a>, is Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, although lots of California parklands feature this kind of geology.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/06/11/burn-after-reading-big-el-nino-building-could-be-major-rainmaker-this-fall/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">It’s true; El Niño is a tropical weather pattern\u003c/a> that was strong back in June, in the tropics, but it’s barely starting to affect California now in late December.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/07/09/wendys-ceratops-a-new-face-in-the-dinosaur-line/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003ci>Wendiceratops pinhornensis\u003c/i>, an early relative of \u003ci>Triceratops\u003c/i>\u003c/a>, was named in honor of amateur fossil hunter Wendy Sloboda and the Pinhorn Provincial Grazing Reserve, where its bones were dug up.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/03/19/after-an-earthquake-use-your-phone-camera-for-science/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The surprisingly effective image-stitching technique\u003c/a>, stereoscopic viewing on steroids, is called “Structure from Motion,” or SfM.\u003c/li>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_28390\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/03/vofstereo.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-28390\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28390\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/03/vofstereo.jpg\" alt=\"Stereo image from Valley of Fire, Nevada\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stereo image of a scene from Nevada’s Valley of Fire State Park. To view it, carefully cross your eyes until the two images fuse in a 3D picture. \u003ccite>(Andrew Alden/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/08/14/its-official-dont-blame-the-sun-for-climate-change/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The historical record of solar activity\u003c/a> is based on a quantity called the sunspot number.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/05/28/two-faults-could-make-one-big-earthquake/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Hayward fault could form a megafault with its southern neighbor\u003c/a> that runs from San Jose past Gilroy — the Calaveras fault.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/06/25/active-volcanoes-spotted-on-venus/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The evidence of fresh pools of red-hot lava\u003c/a> was seen through the thick atmosphere of Venus.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/04/23/stegosaurus-male-or-female-the-answer-is-in-the-plates/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Stegosaurs appear to have had differently shaped spinal plates\u003c/a> in males and females.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/03/10/new-earthquake-forecast-less-frequent-moderate-quakes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Hayward fault is given one-in-seven odds\u003c/a> of a massive rupture between now and 2045.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003c/ol>\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Test your knowledge of planets, earthquakes, fossils and more in this year's big Earth science news.",
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"title": "Earth in the Year 2015: Can You Ace the KQED Science Quiz? | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>From planetology to paleontology, 2015 was full of news in the Earth sciences. Ace this 20-question quiz and you’ll have plenty of planetary tidbits from KQED Science to quick-turn an awkward conversation at your holiday table. Who doesn’t need that?\u003c/p>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>It’s the ultimate selfie: NASA launched this satellite that hovers between Earth and the Sun, taking snapshots of the whole planet about 15 times a day. Do you know its name?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Scientists reported that the ash from some volcanoes contains abundant spherules — glassy droplets as fine as powder — that don’t arise from the splashing and explosions of lava. What makes them instead?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Sediments in the bottom of a rare sinkhole show that a very large tsunami, triggered by a magnitude-9 quake in Alaska, struck this state about 500 years ago. What state is that?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>A study showed that the coral-sand islands of the Maldives are maintained by the activity of parrotfish. What do the fish do?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Researchers found that parts of Mars contain hydrated minerals, as well as dark streaks in the ground that appear during the Martian summer. What did they conclude?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Last month, the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rose above a round number and will not go back below it in the foreseeable future. What is that number?\u003c/li>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_29853\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-29853\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/04/Daisy-parrotfish-wikimedia.jpg\" alt=\"Daisy Parrotfish in the Maldives\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Species like the daisy parrotfish \u003ci>Chlorurus sordidus\u003c/i>, are a crucial link in the natural chain that builds dry land in the Maldives archipelago. \u003ccite>(Julien Bidet/Wikimedia)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cli>Two groups of scientists called for research programs to study the invisible ecosystems of microscopic organisms found everywhere we look. What’s the name for those ecosystems?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Early this year a spacecraft named MESSENGER ended several years of planetary observations by crashing into its target. What is that planet?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft sent back images of high mountain ranges, plus what look like volcanoes and glaciers, on a place it took more than 9 years to reach. What is that distant world?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>A fossil study proposed that the ancient soft-bodied creatures called Ediacarans went extinct when newly evolved animals ruined their habitat. What scientist first proposed this kind of extinction?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>In December, NOAA reported that the previous month was the warmest November ever recorded. How many record-breaking months in a row did that make?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>A new National Monument was established in northern California that displays signs of dramatic geologic activity including the clash of tectonic plates, volcanic eruptions and the wrenching of modern earthquake faults. Do you know its name?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>True or false? A strong El Niño has been active since early summer.\u003c/li>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_104383\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-104383\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/07/Wendiceratops_live-800x656.jpg\" alt=\"Head of Wendiceratops\" width=\"800\" height=\"656\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/07/Wendiceratops_live-800x656.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/07/Wendiceratops_live-400x328.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/07/Wendiceratops_live-960x787.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/07/Wendiceratops_live.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u003ci>Wendiceratops pinhornensis\u003c/i>, as reconstructed by scientific illustrator \u003ca href=\"http://www.ddufault.com/paleo.html\">Danielle Dufault\u003c/a> for the Royal Ontario Museum \u003ccite>(Danielle Dufault/PLOS)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cli>Fossils of a three-horned dinosaur with a flamboyant bony frill behind its head were found in a Canadian park and assigned the name \u003ci>Wendiceratops pinhornensis\u003c/i>. Why that name?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>After an earthquake rips the ground, you can walk around the fresh geological evidence taking snapshots, and scientists can turn those images into an accurate 3D model. What’s the name of that technique?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>A widely used record of the Sun’s historical activity was revised, erasing an apparent increase in solar energy that some researchers used to argue against greenhouse warming. What is that record?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Researchers showed that the Hayward fault is closely connected to a neighboring fault, making it more likely than previously thought that both can rupture together in an earthquake the size of 1906’s Big One. What’s the second fault?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Clever observations by a spacecraft peeking through dense clouds yielded conclusive evidence of volcanoes caught in the act of erupting. What planet was this?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>After 100 years of guessing, a fossil study of stegosaurs — those big dinosaurs with the rows of bony plates down their backs — found a way to tell the males and females apart. What is it?\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>The U.S. Geological Survey updated its long-term earthquake forecast this year. Which Bay Area earthquake fault is considered most likely to cause a major quake over the next few decades?\u003c/li>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Here are the answers, each linked to its KQED Science story.\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/10/20/nasas-new-snapshots-of-earth-from-a-satellite-far-far-away\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The “selfie satellite” is DSCOVR\u003c/a>, or Deep Space Climate Observatory.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/03/05/volcanoes-and-lightning-make-tiny-glass-balls-together/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The new variety of spherule is made\u003c/a> when lightning lashes the ash-filled clouds above erupting volcanoes.\u003c/li>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_27883\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-27883\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/03/galunggung-lightning-usgs.jpg\" alt=\"Volcanic lightning can melt ash into tiny spheres of glass\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Volcanic lightning lashes the eruption cloud over Galunggung, in Indonesia, in this 1984 photo. This discharge of energy creates abundant tiny spheres of melted rock that mix with the ash as it settles earthward and enters the geologic cycle. \u003ccite>(U.S. Geological Survey)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/03/09/ancient-sinkhole-could-presage-mega-tsunami-for-hawaii/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hawaii is the state\u003c/a>, and the Makauwahi sinkhole in Kauai has the evidence.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/05/01/fish-help-build-coral-reef-islands/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The parrotfish manufacture sand for the Maldives islands\u003c/a> by crunching on large corals and pooping out the grit.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/09/28/reports-nasa-to-announce-water-flows-on-mars-watch-live/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NASA scientists announced\u003c/a> they had “the strongest evidence yet that liquid water flows intermittently on present-day Mars.”\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/11/19/co2-earth-passes-into-uncharted-territory/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">In mid-November the CO\u003csub>2\u003c/sub> level\u003c/a> at the standard observatory in Hawaii exceeded 400 parts per million, for good.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/11/05/whats-left-to-discover-about-microbes-pretty-much-everything/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">These worlds of microbes\u003c/a>, found in soils, our skins and our digestive tracts, are called microbiomes.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/04/03/nasas-messenger-spacecraft-preparing-its-farewell-message-from-mercury/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The planet was Mercury\u003c/a>, the one nearest to the Sun.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/11/27/ice-volcanoes-on-pluto-whats-next/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New Horizons found volcanoes of ice water\u003c/a> and glaciers of solid nitrogen on the dwarf planet Pluto.\u003c/li>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_281380\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-281380\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/P_COLOR2_enhanced_release-800x800.jpg\" alt=\"New Horizons' high-resolution color-enhanced portrait of Pluto exaggerated colors showing variations in surface composition and terrain.\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/P_COLOR2_enhanced_release-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/P_COLOR2_enhanced_release-400x400.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/P_COLOR2_enhanced_release-960x960.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/P_COLOR2_enhanced_release-32x32.jpg 32w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/P_COLOR2_enhanced_release-64x64.jpg 64w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/P_COLOR2_enhanced_release-96x96.jpg 96w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/P_COLOR2_enhanced_release-128x128.jpg 128w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/P_COLOR2_enhanced_release-75x75.jpg 75w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/P_COLOR2_enhanced_release.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">New Horizons’ high-resolution color-enhanced portrait of Pluto, exaggerated colors showing variations in surface composition and terrain. \u003ccite>(NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/09/11/mass-extinctions-the-case-of-the-vanishing-ediacarans/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Unlike other mass extinctions\u003c/a>, which had catastrophic causes, the Ediacaran mass extinction is the first example ever found of “biotic replacement,” the mechanism proposed in 1859 by Charles Darwin.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/12/17/november-was-record-warm-month-for-globe-extending-streak/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">In 2015, November was the seventh month in a row\u003c/a> that was the warmest on record.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/07/16/geologic-highlights-of-californias-new-national-monument/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The new park, in the heart of the Coast Range\u003c/a>, is Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, although lots of California parklands feature this kind of geology.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/06/11/burn-after-reading-big-el-nino-building-could-be-major-rainmaker-this-fall/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">It’s true; El Niño is a tropical weather pattern\u003c/a> that was strong back in June, in the tropics, but it’s barely starting to affect California now in late December.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/07/09/wendys-ceratops-a-new-face-in-the-dinosaur-line/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003ci>Wendiceratops pinhornensis\u003c/i>, an early relative of \u003ci>Triceratops\u003c/i>\u003c/a>, was named in honor of amateur fossil hunter Wendy Sloboda and the Pinhorn Provincial Grazing Reserve, where its bones were dug up.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/03/19/after-an-earthquake-use-your-phone-camera-for-science/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The surprisingly effective image-stitching technique\u003c/a>, stereoscopic viewing on steroids, is called “Structure from Motion,” or SfM.\u003c/li>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_28390\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/03/vofstereo.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-28390\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28390\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/03/vofstereo.jpg\" alt=\"Stereo image from Valley of Fire, Nevada\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stereo image of a scene from Nevada’s Valley of Fire State Park. To view it, carefully cross your eyes until the two images fuse in a 3D picture. \u003ccite>(Andrew Alden/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/08/14/its-official-dont-blame-the-sun-for-climate-change/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The historical record of solar activity\u003c/a> is based on a quantity called the sunspot number.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/05/28/two-faults-could-make-one-big-earthquake/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Hayward fault could form a megafault with its southern neighbor\u003c/a> that runs from San Jose past Gilroy — the Calaveras fault.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/06/25/active-volcanoes-spotted-on-venus/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The evidence of fresh pools of red-hot lava\u003c/a> was seen through the thick atmosphere of Venus.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/04/23/stegosaurus-male-or-female-the-answer-is-in-the-plates/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Stegosaurs appear to have had differently shaped spinal plates\u003c/a> in males and females.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/03/10/new-earthquake-forecast-less-frequent-moderate-quakes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Hayward fault is given one-in-seven odds\u003c/a> of a massive rupture between now and 2045.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003c/ol>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>On Monday, NASA started accepting applications for its new class of astronauts. Applying is simple: Just log in to \u003ca href=\"https://www.usajobs.gov/\">USAjobs.gov\u003c/a>, search for “astronaut,” and upload your resume and references. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/423817000\">job description\u003c/a> says “Frequent travel may be required.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a bit more difficult to be picked. In 2013, more than 6,000 people applied to the program. Only eight were selected. That’s an acceptance rate of a little more than one-tenth of 1 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=”imEvk5ltmvQ1y8xi2rXkTx4EPj4OsZ5C”]To be an astronaut, you need a degree in a scientific field, vision correctable to 20/20, and you’ve got to stand between 4 feet, 8.5 inches tall and 6 foot 4. (History suggests it also helps to be white and a man, but NASA says it’s trying hard to \u003ca href=\"http://odeo.hq.nasa.gov/\">remedy that\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, there are many possible paths to space. For former astronaut Charlie Bolden, that journey started in middle school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I fell in love with a place called the United States Naval Academy in seventh grade when I saw a program on television called \u003cem>Men of Annapolis,\u003c/em>” Bolden says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The men portrayed in the program reminded him of his father and uncles, who had served in WWII. He resolved to attend the academy once he graduated from high school. But there was a problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I grew up in the segregated South,” Bolden says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The South Carolina congressional delegation refused to give Bolden the required nomination to the school. An Illinois congressman, instead, opened the way to the Naval Academy, and Bolden began his military career. He flew in Vietnam, became a test pilot, and was selected to become an astronaut in 1980. It was the beginning of the space shuttle era.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Mike Massimino, another former astronaut, it all started with Apollo 11 in the summer of 1969.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was 6 years old when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon,” Massimino says. “And I wanted to be an astronaut — dressed up like an astronaut for Halloween, played astronaut in my backyard with my little astronaut, Snoopy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as he grew up, in Franklin Square, N.Y., that dream started to seem “ridiculous,” Massimino says. “I didn’t know anybody that was an astronaut.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So he went to school to become an engineer. After picking up a degree from Columbia University and four more from MIT, Massimino was accepted to the astronaut corps in 1996.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/videos/interview-with-the-expert-maria-banks/16590\">Maria Banks\u003c/a>, a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum, is planning to apply to the astronaut corps this year. In college, she studied harp performance, and when she graduated she found a job playing on a cruise ship that traveled all over the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would take soil samples and rock samples and hide them in my suitcase,” Banks says. “I don’t know why; I just had to do it. Every day I would try to find the most geologically interesting thing I could do — climb a volcano, or hike a desert, hike on glaciers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That sent her back to school, where she started a Ph.D. program in geology and planetary science. Among other things, she studied the fingerprints of glaciers on Mars, using data and images from NASA missions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These three people — a pilot, an engineer, a planetary geologist — came from different backgrounds and different eras, but they all felt the same way about applying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was convinced that I did not stand any chance,” Bolden says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I thought there was no way they were going to pick me,” Massimino says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I guess I didn’t believe it was … an attainable goal,” Banks says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But they still applied.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though the technological side of the application has changed a bit over the years (Bolden wrote his application on a sheet of paper; Banks will visit the \u003ca href=\"https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/423817000\">USAjobs website\u003c/a>), the selection process has remained virtually identical.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Current astronauts and NASA officials sift through the applications — eliminating the obviously unqualified and making piles, based on profession. Physicists are compared with other physicists. Pilots with other pilots. The cream of the crop (100 or so) will be invited to Houston for live interviews and medical screening. Then a small number will be selected to begin about two years of intense astronaut training.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’re not tops at what you’re doing now,” Bolden says, “you’re not going to be selected.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bolden was tops. He went on to pilot two shuttle missions and commanded two more. He helped put the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit. In 2009, President Obama appointed him the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/bolden_bio.html\">head of NASA.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It took Massimino a few more tries to get accepted. He first applied in 1989, then again in 1991 and was rejected. In 1994, he made it to the interview round.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My attitude was just to be myself,” Massimino says. “When you’re trying to realize a life’s dream, you want to speak from the heart.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He was rejected again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally, in 1996, NASA selected him. He flew on two shuttle missions and helped repair the Hubble. He became the first person to \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/Astro_Mike\">tweet from space\u003c/a>. Today he’s a \u003ca href=\"http://me.columbia.edu/mike-massimino\">professor at Columbia\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This round will be Banks’ third attempt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>” ‘Just keep trying,’ ” she says. “Those are the words I kept hearing from all of the astronauts I talked with.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Banks is accepted, there is some question about what she’ll do. The shuttle program that began with Bolden ended with Massimino in 2011. Since then, NASA has been accused of lacking clear goals. But Bolden says future astronauts have a lot to look forward to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They are going to be the trailblazers for our ventures to Mars,” Bolden says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He says they’ll fly in new spacecraft and return to lunar orbit for the first time since 1972.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It all sounds fantastic to me,” Banks says. “I would be happy doing just about anything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s preparing her application. The deadline: Feb. 18, 2016.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=NASA+Is+Seeking+Astronauts.+Do+You+Have+The+Right+Stuff%3F&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\" alt=\"\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On Monday, NASA started accepting applications for its new class of astronauts. Applying is simple: Just log in to \u003ca href=\"https://www.usajobs.gov/\">USAjobs.gov\u003c/a>, search for “astronaut,” and upload your resume and references. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/423817000\">job description\u003c/a> says “Frequent travel may be required.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a bit more difficult to be picked. In 2013, more than 6,000 people applied to the program. Only eight were selected. That’s an acceptance rate of a little more than one-tenth of 1 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>To be an astronaut, you need a degree in a scientific field, vision correctable to 20/20, and you’ve got to stand between 4 feet, 8.5 inches tall and 6 foot 4. (History suggests it also helps to be white and a man, but NASA says it’s trying hard to \u003ca href=\"http://odeo.hq.nasa.gov/\">remedy that\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, there are many possible paths to space. For former astronaut Charlie Bolden, that journey started in middle school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I fell in love with a place called the United States Naval Academy in seventh grade when I saw a program on television called \u003cem>Men of Annapolis,\u003c/em>” Bolden says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The men portrayed in the program reminded him of his father and uncles, who had served in WWII. He resolved to attend the academy once he graduated from high school. But there was a problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I grew up in the segregated South,” Bolden says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The South Carolina congressional delegation refused to give Bolden the required nomination to the school. An Illinois congressman, instead, opened the way to the Naval Academy, and Bolden began his military career. He flew in Vietnam, became a test pilot, and was selected to become an astronaut in 1980. It was the beginning of the space shuttle era.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Mike Massimino, another former astronaut, it all started with Apollo 11 in the summer of 1969.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was 6 years old when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon,” Massimino says. “And I wanted to be an astronaut — dressed up like an astronaut for Halloween, played astronaut in my backyard with my little astronaut, Snoopy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as he grew up, in Franklin Square, N.Y., that dream started to seem “ridiculous,” Massimino says. “I didn’t know anybody that was an astronaut.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So he went to school to become an engineer. After picking up a degree from Columbia University and four more from MIT, Massimino was accepted to the astronaut corps in 1996.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/videos/interview-with-the-expert-maria-banks/16590\">Maria Banks\u003c/a>, a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum, is planning to apply to the astronaut corps this year. In college, she studied harp performance, and when she graduated she found a job playing on a cruise ship that traveled all over the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would take soil samples and rock samples and hide them in my suitcase,” Banks says. “I don’t know why; I just had to do it. Every day I would try to find the most geologically interesting thing I could do — climb a volcano, or hike a desert, hike on glaciers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That sent her back to school, where she started a Ph.D. program in geology and planetary science. Among other things, she studied the fingerprints of glaciers on Mars, using data and images from NASA missions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These three people — a pilot, an engineer, a planetary geologist — came from different backgrounds and different eras, but they all felt the same way about applying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was convinced that I did not stand any chance,” Bolden says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I thought there was no way they were going to pick me,” Massimino says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I guess I didn’t believe it was … an attainable goal,” Banks says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But they still applied.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though the technological side of the application has changed a bit over the years (Bolden wrote his application on a sheet of paper; Banks will visit the \u003ca href=\"https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/423817000\">USAjobs website\u003c/a>), the selection process has remained virtually identical.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Current astronauts and NASA officials sift through the applications — eliminating the obviously unqualified and making piles, based on profession. Physicists are compared with other physicists. Pilots with other pilots. The cream of the crop (100 or so) will be invited to Houston for live interviews and medical screening. Then a small number will be selected to begin about two years of intense astronaut training.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’re not tops at what you’re doing now,” Bolden says, “you’re not going to be selected.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bolden was tops. He went on to pilot two shuttle missions and commanded two more. He helped put the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit. In 2009, President Obama appointed him the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/bolden_bio.html\">head of NASA.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It took Massimino a few more tries to get accepted. He first applied in 1989, then again in 1991 and was rejected. In 1994, he made it to the interview round.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My attitude was just to be myself,” Massimino says. “When you’re trying to realize a life’s dream, you want to speak from the heart.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He was rejected again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally, in 1996, NASA selected him. He flew on two shuttle missions and helped repair the Hubble. He became the first person to \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/Astro_Mike\">tweet from space\u003c/a>. Today he’s a \u003ca href=\"http://me.columbia.edu/mike-massimino\">professor at Columbia\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This round will be Banks’ third attempt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>” ‘Just keep trying,’ ” she says. “Those are the words I kept hearing from all of the astronauts I talked with.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Banks is accepted, there is some question about what she’ll do. The shuttle program that began with Bolden ended with Massimino in 2011. Since then, NASA has been accused of lacking clear goals. 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"content": "\u003cp>In what may not be unlike a space-geek’s version of American Idol, NASA has judged five proposals for interplanetary missions worthy of moving onto a final round of competition for selection under its Discover program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While it is likely that only one contender will win the prize of being fully funded, each represents exciting potential for exploration, including probing the atmosphere and surface of Venus, exploring distant and ancient asteroids, and searching for objects that sometimes come perilously close to the Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NASA’s Discovery program is designed to produce quick-paced and relatively inexpensive missions to explore important questions about our solar system, without the encumbrance involved in time-consuming and expensive “flagship” missions like Curiosity or Cassini.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An example of a highly successful Discovery mission is \u003ca href=\"http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NASA’s Dawn\u003c/a>, which only last March became the first spacecraft to encounter a dwarf planet when it arrived at Ceres, following a year-long exploration of the protoplanet Vesta.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among the five missions being considered–four of which are led by women–two are focused on Earth’s near neighbor and size-twin, Venus, and three on various aspects of small solar system bodies: asteroids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Contestant 1: DAVINCI\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://www.universetoday.com/122719/the-next-generation-of-exploration-the-davinci-spacecraft/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Deep Atmospheric Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging\u003c/a> (DAVINCI—yes, NASA really works hard to make its acronyms say something!) would make a gradual, hour-long descent through Venus’ thick atmosphere, studying its composition and other properties along the way. DAVINCI would also attempt to confirm recent exciting evidence that there may be active volcanoes on Venus today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Contestant 2: VERITAS\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_402166\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/veritas.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-402166\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/veritas-400x257.jpg\" alt=\"Artist concept of proposed VERITAS mission spacecraft.\" width=\"400\" height=\"257\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/veritas-400x257.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/veritas-800x514.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/veritas-960x616.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/veritas.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist concept of proposed VERITAS mission spacecraft. \u003ccite>(JPL-CalTech/NASA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Another Venus exploration proposal, the \u003ca href=\"http://www.dlr.de/pf/Portaldata/6/Resources/lcpm/abstracts/Abstract2_Freeman_A.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy\u003c/a> (VERITAS) would make high-resolution image maps of Venus’ surface. So far, we have only seen Venus’ surface through relatively low-resolution radar maps, such as those made by the Magellan spacecraft decades ago, and the few close-up images taken by Soviet landers even earlier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So much attention has been given to Mars in recent years that Venus seems to have become an afterthought in near-solar-system exploration–but that does not mean Venus is less interesting. Venus’ extremely inhospitable atmospheric pressure and temperature present greater challenges to exploration than Mars, but that is merely a hurdle to technological innovation, and not a barrier to curiosity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Active volcanoes on Venus? Awesome. There are even thoughts that once, long ago, Venus may have possessed oceans, a possibility that examination of its present-day atmosphere could reveal to us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The balance of the Discovery mission contestants focus on much more accessible solar system objects: asteroids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Contestant 3: Lucy\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_402170\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/539px-Asteroid_Belt.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-402170\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/539px-Asteroid_Belt-400x445.jpg\" alt=\"Jupiter's Trojan asteroids congregate in the L4 and L5 "Lagrangian Points" that lead and trail Jupiter in its orbit.\" width=\"400\" height=\"445\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/539px-Asteroid_Belt-400x445.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/539px-Asteroid_Belt.jpg 539w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids congregate in the L4 and L5 “Lagrangian Points” that lead and trail Jupiter in its orbit. \u003ccite>(NASA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.astrowatch.net/2015/10/nasas-proposed-lucy-mission-to-study.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Lucy mission\u003c/a> would send the first-ever spacecraft to explore a distant and special group of space rocks: Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids. Trojan asteroids accumulate in two gravitationally stable “pockets” called “Lagrangian” points, which lead and trail Jupiter in its orbit around the sun. Jupiter’s Trojans number over 6,000, and are believed to have been captured in Jupiter’s L4 and L5 Lagrangian points early in the formation of the solar system. Lucy would be the most distant asteroid encounter mission to date, since the targets of past asteroid missions reside within the Main Asteroid Belt, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Contestant 4: Psyche\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_402171\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/psyche.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-402171\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/psyche-400x203.jpg\" alt=\"The Psyche mission would explore the large metallic asteroid of the same name--an object whose interior may have been exposed by a collision with another asteroid. \" width=\"400\" height=\"203\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/psyche-400x203.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/psyche.jpg 575w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Psyche mission would explore the large metallic asteroid of the same name–an object whose interior may have been exposed by a collision with another asteroid. \u003ccite>(JPL-CalTech)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.universetoday.com/122764/mission-to-the-metal-world-the-psyche-mission/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Psyche mission\u003c/a> would send a spacecraft to explore the asteroid Psyche, one of the largest objects in the Main Asteroid Belt. Psyche is the remnant of a protoplanet whose outer layers were blasted away by a collision with another body. Psyche might offer a visiting spacecraft an unobstructed view of parts of the asteroid that originally formed deep within it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Contestant 5: NEOCam\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_402172\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 320px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/neocam.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-402172\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/neocam.jpg\" alt=\"Artist concept of the Near-Earth Object hunting infrared telescope and wide-field camera, NEOCam. \" width=\"320\" height=\"278\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist concept of the Near-Earth Object hunting infrared telescope and wide-field camera, NEOCam. \u003ccite>(JPL-CalTech/NASA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The final Discovery candidate under consideration is \u003ca href=\"http://neocam.ipac.caltech.edu/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NEOCam\u003c/a>, which would focus on detecting and tracking asteroids—and potentially comets—that pass close to Earth’s orbit. NEOCam would be stationed closer to the sun than Earth, near Venus’ orbit, and sweep its infrared gaze around Earth’s entire orbital path. We already know of about 10,000 Near Earth Objects (NEOs), including almost all of the larger ones. But the smaller the NEO, the more easily it evades detection. NEOCam is expected to detect 100,000 or more as yet unknown NEOs, vastly improving our ability to predict possible future collisions with Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>So who will become NASA’s next Solar System Discovery Idol? \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Who would get your vote? Do Venusian volcanoes strike your fancy, or are you more concerned with space rocks that could punch a hole in Earth’s surface? Or maybe ancient asteroids that tell a story of the early formation of the solar system is what plays on your fascination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Voting lines are now open! (If only….)\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Under its Discovery program, NASA considers five proposals for new interplanetary space missions. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In what may not be unlike a space-geek’s version of American Idol, NASA has judged five proposals for interplanetary missions worthy of moving onto a final round of competition for selection under its Discover program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While it is likely that only one contender will win the prize of being fully funded, each represents exciting potential for exploration, including probing the atmosphere and surface of Venus, exploring distant and ancient asteroids, and searching for objects that sometimes come perilously close to the Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NASA’s Discovery program is designed to produce quick-paced and relatively inexpensive missions to explore important questions about our solar system, without the encumbrance involved in time-consuming and expensive “flagship” missions like Curiosity or Cassini.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An example of a highly successful Discovery mission is \u003ca href=\"http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NASA’s Dawn\u003c/a>, which only last March became the first spacecraft to encounter a dwarf planet when it arrived at Ceres, following a year-long exploration of the protoplanet Vesta.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among the five missions being considered–four of which are led by women–two are focused on Earth’s near neighbor and size-twin, Venus, and three on various aspects of small solar system bodies: asteroids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Contestant 1: DAVINCI\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://www.universetoday.com/122719/the-next-generation-of-exploration-the-davinci-spacecraft/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Deep Atmospheric Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging\u003c/a> (DAVINCI—yes, NASA really works hard to make its acronyms say something!) would make a gradual, hour-long descent through Venus’ thick atmosphere, studying its composition and other properties along the way. DAVINCI would also attempt to confirm recent exciting evidence that there may be active volcanoes on Venus today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Contestant 2: VERITAS\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_402166\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/veritas.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-402166\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/veritas-400x257.jpg\" alt=\"Artist concept of proposed VERITAS mission spacecraft.\" width=\"400\" height=\"257\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/veritas-400x257.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/veritas-800x514.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/veritas-960x616.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/veritas.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist concept of proposed VERITAS mission spacecraft. \u003ccite>(JPL-CalTech/NASA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Another Venus exploration proposal, the \u003ca href=\"http://www.dlr.de/pf/Portaldata/6/Resources/lcpm/abstracts/Abstract2_Freeman_A.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy\u003c/a> (VERITAS) would make high-resolution image maps of Venus’ surface. So far, we have only seen Venus’ surface through relatively low-resolution radar maps, such as those made by the Magellan spacecraft decades ago, and the few close-up images taken by Soviet landers even earlier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So much attention has been given to Mars in recent years that Venus seems to have become an afterthought in near-solar-system exploration–but that does not mean Venus is less interesting. Venus’ extremely inhospitable atmospheric pressure and temperature present greater challenges to exploration than Mars, but that is merely a hurdle to technological innovation, and not a barrier to curiosity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Active volcanoes on Venus? Awesome. There are even thoughts that once, long ago, Venus may have possessed oceans, a possibility that examination of its present-day atmosphere could reveal to us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The balance of the Discovery mission contestants focus on much more accessible solar system objects: asteroids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Contestant 3: Lucy\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_402170\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/539px-Asteroid_Belt.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-402170\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/539px-Asteroid_Belt-400x445.jpg\" alt=\"Jupiter's Trojan asteroids congregate in the L4 and L5 "Lagrangian Points" that lead and trail Jupiter in its orbit.\" width=\"400\" height=\"445\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/539px-Asteroid_Belt-400x445.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/539px-Asteroid_Belt.jpg 539w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids congregate in the L4 and L5 “Lagrangian Points” that lead and trail Jupiter in its orbit. \u003ccite>(NASA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.astrowatch.net/2015/10/nasas-proposed-lucy-mission-to-study.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Lucy mission\u003c/a> would send the first-ever spacecraft to explore a distant and special group of space rocks: Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids. Trojan asteroids accumulate in two gravitationally stable “pockets” called “Lagrangian” points, which lead and trail Jupiter in its orbit around the sun. Jupiter’s Trojans number over 6,000, and are believed to have been captured in Jupiter’s L4 and L5 Lagrangian points early in the formation of the solar system. Lucy would be the most distant asteroid encounter mission to date, since the targets of past asteroid missions reside within the Main Asteroid Belt, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Contestant 4: Psyche\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_402171\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/psyche.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-402171\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/psyche-400x203.jpg\" alt=\"The Psyche mission would explore the large metallic asteroid of the same name--an object whose interior may have been exposed by a collision with another asteroid. \" width=\"400\" height=\"203\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/psyche-400x203.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/psyche.jpg 575w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Psyche mission would explore the large metallic asteroid of the same name–an object whose interior may have been exposed by a collision with another asteroid. \u003ccite>(JPL-CalTech)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.universetoday.com/122764/mission-to-the-metal-world-the-psyche-mission/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Psyche mission\u003c/a> would send a spacecraft to explore the asteroid Psyche, one of the largest objects in the Main Asteroid Belt. Psyche is the remnant of a protoplanet whose outer layers were blasted away by a collision with another body. Psyche might offer a visiting spacecraft an unobstructed view of parts of the asteroid that originally formed deep within it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Contestant 5: NEOCam\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_402172\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 320px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/neocam.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-402172\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/12/neocam.jpg\" alt=\"Artist concept of the Near-Earth Object hunting infrared telescope and wide-field camera, NEOCam. \" width=\"320\" height=\"278\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist concept of the Near-Earth Object hunting infrared telescope and wide-field camera, NEOCam. \u003ccite>(JPL-CalTech/NASA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The final Discovery candidate under consideration is \u003ca href=\"http://neocam.ipac.caltech.edu/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NEOCam\u003c/a>, which would focus on detecting and tracking asteroids—and potentially comets—that pass close to Earth’s orbit. NEOCam would be stationed closer to the sun than Earth, near Venus’ orbit, and sweep its infrared gaze around Earth’s entire orbital path. We already know of about 10,000 Near Earth Objects (NEOs), including almost all of the larger ones. But the smaller the NEO, the more easily it evades detection. NEOCam is expected to detect 100,000 or more as yet unknown NEOs, vastly improving our ability to predict possible future collisions with Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>So who will become NASA’s next Solar System Discovery Idol? \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Who would get your vote? Do Venusian volcanoes strike your fancy, or are you more concerned with space rocks that could punch a hole in Earth’s surface? Or maybe ancient asteroids that tell a story of the early formation of the solar system is what plays on your fascination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Voting lines are now open! (If only….)\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Ice Volcanoes on Pluto? What's Next!",
"headTitle": "Ice Volcanoes on Pluto? What’s Next! | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>At this moment, NASA’s tiny \u003ca href=\"http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New Horizons\u003c/a> spacecraft, which captured the world’s imagination and our hearts when it flew past Pluto in July, is already some 100 million miles beyond, plunging headlong into the icy, dark reaches of the \u003ca href=\"http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/kbos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kuiper Belt\u003c/a> at more than eight miles per second.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The armchair-adventure we’ve engaged in with this intrepid little robot is far from over.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the buzz of the Pluto encounter quieted down and people assumed the cool stuff was over, one astonishing discovery after another has rolled in with data that New Horizons beamed back to Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">‘The image of a volcanic eruption, even one spewing frosty slush, shatters the long-held assumption that Pluto was merely a dead, static world with little or no active processes.’\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>“How?” you may ask.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It takes time to analyze the scientific data New Horizons captured, and not all of that data has even made it back to Earth yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With a data transmission rate of only about 2 kilobits per second, it will take until late in 2016 for all of the Pluto encounter data to be sent home. A slow process, maybe, but for scientists it’s a bit like a birthday party that goes on for months, with new presents to unwrap every day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Layers of Geologic Time\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among the \u003ca href=\"http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/News-Center/News-Article.php?page=20151109\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">surprises scientists have found\u003c/a> inside the gift boxes from New Horizons is that Pluto’s landscapes comprise a wide range of ages. Scientists determined this by counting impact craters; the number of craters on a planet’s or a moon’s surface is an indication of how long that surface has been exposed to meteoroid impact events, without being reshaped by ongoing active processes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_368487\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/plutocratermap.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-368487\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/plutocratermap-800x417.jpg\" alt=\"Map of Pluto showing the locations of impact craters. Heavily cratered regions are more ancient surfaces, while those with little or no cratering are relatively young.\" width=\"800\" height=\"417\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/plutocratermap-800x417.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/plutocratermap-400x209.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/plutocratermap.jpg 903w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Map of Pluto showing the locations of impact craters. Heavily cratered regions are more ancient surfaces, while those with little or no cratering are relatively young. \u003ccite>(NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Planetary surfaces whose ages stretch back to when the solar system was young and filled with debris—meteoroids, asteroids, comets, and planetesimals—bear especially high densities of impact craters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The diversity of ages of Pluto’s surface tells us clearly that the dwarf planet hasn’t just been stoically bearing the ravages of the solar system’s slings and arrows, but has been actively healing some of those scars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While some regions do appear to date back 4 billion years to just after the solar system’s genesis, other areas have been since remodeled. The smooth icy plains of Sputnik Planum, the western half of Pluto’s vast heart-shaped feature, are completely crater-free, and may be as young as only 10 million years—that’s baby skin in the time scale of the solar system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ices of Sputnik Planum are not just frozen water—which are as strong as rock in Pluto’s minus 378 degrees F temperatures—but frozen nitrogen, methane, and carbon monoxide. These exotic ices are not so rock-hard in Pluto’s climate, and patterns in some areas suggest they are moving, or have moved recently, in glacier-like flows. The youthful, unblemished surfaces of Sputnik Planum may be explained in part by the action of flowing ices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_368488\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 360px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/cryovolcanoes.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-368488\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/cryovolcanoes-400x763.jpg\" alt=\"Wright Mons and Piccard Mons, two mountains on Pluto that may have been formed by eruptions of ices from beneath Pluto's surface. \" width=\"360\" height=\"687\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/cryovolcanoes-400x763.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/cryovolcanoes-800x1527.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/cryovolcanoes-960x1832.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/cryovolcanoes.jpg 974w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wright Mons and Piccard Mons, two mountains on Pluto that may have been formed by eruptions of ices from beneath Pluto’s surface. \u003ccite>(NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ice Volcanoes\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two of Pluto’s mountains—Wright Mons and Piccard Mons—appear to be more than just mounds of ice and rock. They may be \u003cem>cryovolcanoes\u003c/em>: mountains formed by the eruption of ices from beneath Pluto’s surface!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wide depressions surrounded by concentric fracturing occupy the mountains’ central areas, resembling pictures of some Earthly volcanic calderas. Wright Mons is 60 miles wide, 13,000 feet high, and its central depression is 35 miles across—and it’s the smaller of the pair.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The image of an active volcanic eruption, even one spewing out frosty slush instead of molten rock, may grip our imaginations more than any other Plutonian discovery, for the notion shatters the long-held assumption that Pluto was merely a dead, static world with little or no active processes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Clues to Planetary Origin\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A scarcity of smaller impact craters on Pluto’s more ancient surfaces, as well as those of its large moon, Charon, have caused scientists to question some earlier and long-standing assumptions about the formation of the Kuiper Belt, and by extension the \u003ca href=\"http://www.windows2universe.org/our_solar_system/formation.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">solar system \u003c/a>in general.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One long-time assumption had been that objects in the Kuiper Belt were gradually built up in size by the coalescence of small chunks of rock and ice that clumped into ever-larger objects, which in turn clumped together to build the objects we see today. This idea is like when a child snaps together the smallest blocks in a set of Legos into somewhat larger blocks, and then fits those blocks into even larger assemblies, and so on toward a final finished Lego structure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_368489\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/plutosmoons.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-368489\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/plutosmoons-400x200.jpg\" alt=\"Pluto's smaller moons, which may be representative of smaller bodies throughout the Kuiper Belt\" width=\"400\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/plutosmoons-400x200.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/plutosmoons-800x400.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/plutosmoons-1440x720.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/plutosmoons-1920x960.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/plutosmoons-1180x590.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/plutosmoons-960x480.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pluto’s smaller moons, which may be representative of smaller bodies throughout the Kuiper Belt \u003ccite>(NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The lack of small craters on Pluto supports a different idea: that Kuiper Belt Objects of the sizes we see today–typically 10-miles across and up–may have formed directly from ice and rock dust. In this case the child builds the final Lego structure simply by adding single Lego blocks to it, without creating intermediate assemblies first.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>But Wait, It Gets Even Better\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even as New Horizons’ Pluto flyby data continue to trickle back to Earth, the spacecraft has already set upon a new mission of exploration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recently, mission operators conducted a \u003ca href=\"http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/News-Center/News-Article.php?page=20151105\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series of engine thrust maneuvers\u003c/a> that put New Horizons on a path for a January 2019 encounter with the Kuiper Belt Object known as 2014 MU69, more than a billion miles farther away than Pluto.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This extended mission will give us our first-ever close look at a small Kuiper Belt Object—or any object, other than Pluto and its moons, within the Kuiper Belt. Another big gift box awaits!\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Two of Pluto's mountains may be formed by eruption of ices from beneath its surface. NASA's New Horizons keeps delivering adventure on the dwarf planet.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>At this moment, NASA’s tiny \u003ca href=\"http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New Horizons\u003c/a> spacecraft, which captured the world’s imagination and our hearts when it flew past Pluto in July, is already some 100 million miles beyond, plunging headlong into the icy, dark reaches of the \u003ca href=\"http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/kbos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kuiper Belt\u003c/a> at more than eight miles per second.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The armchair-adventure we’ve engaged in with this intrepid little robot is far from over.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the buzz of the Pluto encounter quieted down and people assumed the cool stuff was over, one astonishing discovery after another has rolled in with data that New Horizons beamed back to Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">‘The image of a volcanic eruption, even one spewing frosty slush, shatters the long-held assumption that Pluto was merely a dead, static world with little or no active processes.’\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>“How?” you may ask.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It takes time to analyze the scientific data New Horizons captured, and not all of that data has even made it back to Earth yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With a data transmission rate of only about 2 kilobits per second, it will take until late in 2016 for all of the Pluto encounter data to be sent home. A slow process, maybe, but for scientists it’s a bit like a birthday party that goes on for months, with new presents to unwrap every day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Layers of Geologic Time\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among the \u003ca href=\"http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/News-Center/News-Article.php?page=20151109\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">surprises scientists have found\u003c/a> inside the gift boxes from New Horizons is that Pluto’s landscapes comprise a wide range of ages. Scientists determined this by counting impact craters; the number of craters on a planet’s or a moon’s surface is an indication of how long that surface has been exposed to meteoroid impact events, without being reshaped by ongoing active processes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_368487\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/plutocratermap.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-368487\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/plutocratermap-800x417.jpg\" alt=\"Map of Pluto showing the locations of impact craters. Heavily cratered regions are more ancient surfaces, while those with little or no cratering are relatively young.\" width=\"800\" height=\"417\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/plutocratermap-800x417.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/plutocratermap-400x209.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/plutocratermap.jpg 903w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Map of Pluto showing the locations of impact craters. Heavily cratered regions are more ancient surfaces, while those with little or no cratering are relatively young. \u003ccite>(NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Planetary surfaces whose ages stretch back to when the solar system was young and filled with debris—meteoroids, asteroids, comets, and planetesimals—bear especially high densities of impact craters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The diversity of ages of Pluto’s surface tells us clearly that the dwarf planet hasn’t just been stoically bearing the ravages of the solar system’s slings and arrows, but has been actively healing some of those scars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While some regions do appear to date back 4 billion years to just after the solar system’s genesis, other areas have been since remodeled. The smooth icy plains of Sputnik Planum, the western half of Pluto’s vast heart-shaped feature, are completely crater-free, and may be as young as only 10 million years—that’s baby skin in the time scale of the solar system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ices of Sputnik Planum are not just frozen water—which are as strong as rock in Pluto’s minus 378 degrees F temperatures—but frozen nitrogen, methane, and carbon monoxide. These exotic ices are not so rock-hard in Pluto’s climate, and patterns in some areas suggest they are moving, or have moved recently, in glacier-like flows. The youthful, unblemished surfaces of Sputnik Planum may be explained in part by the action of flowing ices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_368488\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 360px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/cryovolcanoes.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-368488\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/cryovolcanoes-400x763.jpg\" alt=\"Wright Mons and Piccard Mons, two mountains on Pluto that may have been formed by eruptions of ices from beneath Pluto's surface. \" width=\"360\" height=\"687\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/cryovolcanoes-400x763.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/cryovolcanoes-800x1527.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/cryovolcanoes-960x1832.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/cryovolcanoes.jpg 974w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wright Mons and Piccard Mons, two mountains on Pluto that may have been formed by eruptions of ices from beneath Pluto’s surface. \u003ccite>(NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ice Volcanoes\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two of Pluto’s mountains—Wright Mons and Piccard Mons—appear to be more than just mounds of ice and rock. They may be \u003cem>cryovolcanoes\u003c/em>: mountains formed by the eruption of ices from beneath Pluto’s surface!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wide depressions surrounded by concentric fracturing occupy the mountains’ central areas, resembling pictures of some Earthly volcanic calderas. Wright Mons is 60 miles wide, 13,000 feet high, and its central depression is 35 miles across—and it’s the smaller of the pair.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The image of an active volcanic eruption, even one spewing out frosty slush instead of molten rock, may grip our imaginations more than any other Plutonian discovery, for the notion shatters the long-held assumption that Pluto was merely a dead, static world with little or no active processes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Clues to Planetary Origin\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A scarcity of smaller impact craters on Pluto’s more ancient surfaces, as well as those of its large moon, Charon, have caused scientists to question some earlier and long-standing assumptions about the formation of the Kuiper Belt, and by extension the \u003ca href=\"http://www.windows2universe.org/our_solar_system/formation.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">solar system \u003c/a>in general.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One long-time assumption had been that objects in the Kuiper Belt were gradually built up in size by the coalescence of small chunks of rock and ice that clumped into ever-larger objects, which in turn clumped together to build the objects we see today. This idea is like when a child snaps together the smallest blocks in a set of Legos into somewhat larger blocks, and then fits those blocks into even larger assemblies, and so on toward a final finished Lego structure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_368489\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/plutosmoons.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-368489\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/plutosmoons-400x200.jpg\" alt=\"Pluto's smaller moons, which may be representative of smaller bodies throughout the Kuiper Belt\" width=\"400\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/plutosmoons-400x200.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/plutosmoons-800x400.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/plutosmoons-1440x720.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/plutosmoons-1920x960.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/plutosmoons-1180x590.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/plutosmoons-960x480.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pluto’s smaller moons, which may be representative of smaller bodies throughout the Kuiper Belt \u003ccite>(NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The lack of small craters on Pluto supports a different idea: that Kuiper Belt Objects of the sizes we see today–typically 10-miles across and up–may have formed directly from ice and rock dust. In this case the child builds the final Lego structure simply by adding single Lego blocks to it, without creating intermediate assemblies first.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>But Wait, It Gets Even Better\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even as New Horizons’ Pluto flyby data continue to trickle back to Earth, the spacecraft has already set upon a new mission of exploration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recently, mission operators conducted a \u003ca href=\"http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/News-Center/News-Article.php?page=20151105\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series of engine thrust maneuvers\u003c/a> that put New Horizons on a path for a January 2019 encounter with the Kuiper Belt Object known as 2014 MU69, more than a billion miles farther away than Pluto.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This extended mission will give us our first-ever close look at a small Kuiper Belt Object—or any object, other than Pluto and its moons, within the Kuiper Belt. Another big gift box awaits!\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Where Did Mars' Atmosphere Go--And Is Earth Next?",
"headTitle": "Where Did Mars’ Atmosphere Go–And Is Earth Next? | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Last week, NASA’s \u003ca href=\"http://mars.nasa.gov/maven/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mars Atmospheric and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) \u003c/a>mission identified the smoking gun in the whodunit mystery of what happened to Mars’ once much warmer, thicker, and more Earth-like atmosphere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As some suspected, it has slowly been blown into space by energetic particles of the solar wind. \u003cem>Turns out the sun did it!\u003c/em> My money was on the butler….\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Picturing a Warmer, Wetter Mars\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the saga of our exploration of Mars, which has unfolded over the past five decades since the first robotic probe sent back images taken at close range, our understanding of Mars has improved dramatically.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Early missions reported a dry, cold desert planet with an \u003ca href=\"http://www.space.com/16903-mars-atmosphere-climate-weather.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">atmosphere \u003c/a>a hundredth as thick as Earth’s, composed mostly of carbon dioxide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_353456\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/mars-viking.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-353456\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/mars-viking-400x300.jpg\" alt=\"Mars' dry cratered surface and thin atmosphere imaged by the Viking 1 orbiter.\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/mars-viking-400x300.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/mars-viking-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/mars-viking-1180x885.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/mars-viking-960x720.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/mars-viking.jpg 1190w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mars’ dry cratered surface and thin atmosphere imaged by the Viking 1 orbiter. \u003ccite>(Viking/NASA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>More recently, missions in orbit and on the ground have churned up a preponderance of geological evidence that long ago liquid water flowed across Mars’ surface, filling large lakes and even shallow seas—an environment that may have been suitable to sustain life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The very presence of liquid water in Mars’ past tells us that its atmosphere had to be much more substantial at one time–thicker, warmer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So a big question has been,\u003cem> what happened to the atmosphere? \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Understanding what is responsible for the drastic difference between the cold dry Mars we see today and the warm and wet Mars of the distant past is key to answering important questions not only about Mars, but our home planet as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Might Earth someday fall victim to a similar crime? Is there a serial killer of planetary atmospheres on the loose, and should people on Earth start stock-piling tanks of air and water against the prospects of a Martian-esque future?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left\">\u003cem>Don’t panic.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>MAVEN was the first spacecraft ever sent to explore the uppermost regions of Mars’ atmosphere, where it comes into contact with the environment of the solar wind. It was believed that the answer to the mystery might be found in this region, but on-site forensic work was needed to prove it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/SolarWind.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">solar wind\u003c/a> is a continuous flow of high-speed, electrically charged particles (plasma) and magnetic fields exuded by the sun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blowing by with an average speed of about a million miles an hour, the solar wind affects the entire solar system, including the Earth. All of the objects in the solar system, even far beyond Pluto, are within this outflowing “bubble” of plasma.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How Does the Solar Wind Affect Us Here on Earth?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here at home, we can see the effects of exceptional solar wind activity: dazzling auroras around Earth’s poles, and “\u003ca href=\"http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/phenomena/geomagnetic-storms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">geomagnetic storms\u003c/a>” (fluctuations in \u003ca href=\"http://www.physics.org/article-questions.asp?id=64\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Earth’s magnetic field\u003c/a>) that on rare occasion have knocked out power grids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These effects, however, are not the result of the solar wind hammering away at our upper atmosphere, but by its interaction with Earth’s more extensive magnetic field. Earth’s atmosphere, for the most part, is safely tucked away within our planet’s great magnetic deflector shield.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_353454\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/earthvsmars.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-353454\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/earthvsmars-400x158.jpg\" alt=\"Artist illustration depicting Earth's dynamo-driven global magnetic field and the "fossil" remnants of Mars' extinct global field.\" width=\"400\" height=\"158\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/earthvsmars-400x158.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/earthvsmars.jpg 794w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist illustration depicting Earth’s dynamo-driven global magnetic field and the “fossil” remnants of Mars’ extinct global field. \u003ccite>(NASA/JPL)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Mars, however, does not enjoy the same protection. Mars, at present, has no structured global magnetic field as Earth does—the kind with north and south poles and an enveloping donut shape, like a textbook bar magnet. With respect to the solar wind’s abrasive action, Mars’ deflectors are down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists had hypothesized, and now MAVEN has verified, that the energetic ions of the solar wind coming into direct contact with Martian atmospheric atoms result in those atoms being kicked off into space, thus slowly leaking away at Mars’ atmosphere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How Bad Is the Leak in Mars’ Atmosphere?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://mars.nasa.gov/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1869\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MAVEN has detected\u003c/a> the amount of atmospheric gases escaping from Mars: around 100 grams per second.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX5JCYBZpcg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">About three-quarters of the loss\u003c/a> occurs through a long “tail” extending away from the sun’s direction, and another quarter through a plume spewing off of Mars’ polar region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_353455\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/maven-atmosphere-loss.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-353455\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/maven-atmosphere-loss-400x266.png\" alt=\"NASA's MAVEN spacecraft exploring the upper atmosphere of Mars. \" width=\"400\" height=\"266\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/maven-atmosphere-loss-400x266.png 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/maven-atmosphere-loss.png 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft exploring the upper atmosphere of Mars. \u003ccite>(Goddard Space Flight Center/NASA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>MAVEN has also found that the loss rate rises dramatically when solar wind activity increases, such as during solar storms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With this insight, we can now envision how Mars probably lost a major part of its atmosphere in the solar system’s younger days, billions of years ago, when the sun was more active and the solar wind more abrasive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though our understanding of exactly how Mars lost its water-supporting atmosphere won’t bring it back, it may help us better understand what Mars is all about today, including how we might go about looking for any remnants of its global paleoclimate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recently, NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-confirms-evidence-that-liquid-water-flows-on-today-s-mars\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">confirmed the presence of trickles of briny liquid water\u003c/a> seeping in certain spots on Mars today—a discovery that has scientists interested in finding signs of life on Mars very excited.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "NASA's Mars Atmospheric and Volatile Evolution mission identified the smoking gun in the whodunit mystery of what happened to Mars' once much warmer, thicker, wetter and more Earth-like atmosphere. Turns out the sun did it! ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Last week, NASA’s \u003ca href=\"http://mars.nasa.gov/maven/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mars Atmospheric and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) \u003c/a>mission identified the smoking gun in the whodunit mystery of what happened to Mars’ once much warmer, thicker, and more Earth-like atmosphere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As some suspected, it has slowly been blown into space by energetic particles of the solar wind. \u003cem>Turns out the sun did it!\u003c/em> My money was on the butler….\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Picturing a Warmer, Wetter Mars\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the saga of our exploration of Mars, which has unfolded over the past five decades since the first robotic probe sent back images taken at close range, our understanding of Mars has improved dramatically.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Early missions reported a dry, cold desert planet with an \u003ca href=\"http://www.space.com/16903-mars-atmosphere-climate-weather.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">atmosphere \u003c/a>a hundredth as thick as Earth’s, composed mostly of carbon dioxide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_353456\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/mars-viking.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-353456\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/mars-viking-400x300.jpg\" alt=\"Mars' dry cratered surface and thin atmosphere imaged by the Viking 1 orbiter.\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/mars-viking-400x300.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/mars-viking-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/mars-viking-1180x885.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/mars-viking-960x720.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/mars-viking.jpg 1190w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mars’ dry cratered surface and thin atmosphere imaged by the Viking 1 orbiter. \u003ccite>(Viking/NASA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>More recently, missions in orbit and on the ground have churned up a preponderance of geological evidence that long ago liquid water flowed across Mars’ surface, filling large lakes and even shallow seas—an environment that may have been suitable to sustain life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The very presence of liquid water in Mars’ past tells us that its atmosphere had to be much more substantial at one time–thicker, warmer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So a big question has been,\u003cem> what happened to the atmosphere? \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Understanding what is responsible for the drastic difference between the cold dry Mars we see today and the warm and wet Mars of the distant past is key to answering important questions not only about Mars, but our home planet as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Might Earth someday fall victim to a similar crime? Is there a serial killer of planetary atmospheres on the loose, and should people on Earth start stock-piling tanks of air and water against the prospects of a Martian-esque future?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left\">\u003cem>Don’t panic.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>MAVEN was the first spacecraft ever sent to explore the uppermost regions of Mars’ atmosphere, where it comes into contact with the environment of the solar wind. It was believed that the answer to the mystery might be found in this region, but on-site forensic work was needed to prove it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/SolarWind.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">solar wind\u003c/a> is a continuous flow of high-speed, electrically charged particles (plasma) and magnetic fields exuded by the sun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blowing by with an average speed of about a million miles an hour, the solar wind affects the entire solar system, including the Earth. All of the objects in the solar system, even far beyond Pluto, are within this outflowing “bubble” of plasma.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How Does the Solar Wind Affect Us Here on Earth?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here at home, we can see the effects of exceptional solar wind activity: dazzling auroras around Earth’s poles, and “\u003ca href=\"http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/phenomena/geomagnetic-storms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">geomagnetic storms\u003c/a>” (fluctuations in \u003ca href=\"http://www.physics.org/article-questions.asp?id=64\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Earth’s magnetic field\u003c/a>) that on rare occasion have knocked out power grids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These effects, however, are not the result of the solar wind hammering away at our upper atmosphere, but by its interaction with Earth’s more extensive magnetic field. Earth’s atmosphere, for the most part, is safely tucked away within our planet’s great magnetic deflector shield.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_353454\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/earthvsmars.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-353454\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/earthvsmars-400x158.jpg\" alt=\"Artist illustration depicting Earth's dynamo-driven global magnetic field and the "fossil" remnants of Mars' extinct global field.\" width=\"400\" height=\"158\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/earthvsmars-400x158.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/earthvsmars.jpg 794w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist illustration depicting Earth’s dynamo-driven global magnetic field and the “fossil” remnants of Mars’ extinct global field. \u003ccite>(NASA/JPL)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Mars, however, does not enjoy the same protection. Mars, at present, has no structured global magnetic field as Earth does—the kind with north and south poles and an enveloping donut shape, like a textbook bar magnet. With respect to the solar wind’s abrasive action, Mars’ deflectors are down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists had hypothesized, and now MAVEN has verified, that the energetic ions of the solar wind coming into direct contact with Martian atmospheric atoms result in those atoms being kicked off into space, thus slowly leaking away at Mars’ atmosphere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How Bad Is the Leak in Mars’ Atmosphere?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://mars.nasa.gov/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1869\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MAVEN has detected\u003c/a> the amount of atmospheric gases escaping from Mars: around 100 grams per second.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX5JCYBZpcg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">About three-quarters of the loss\u003c/a> occurs through a long “tail” extending away from the sun’s direction, and another quarter through a plume spewing off of Mars’ polar region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_353455\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/maven-atmosphere-loss.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-353455\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/maven-atmosphere-loss-400x266.png\" alt=\"NASA's MAVEN spacecraft exploring the upper atmosphere of Mars. \" width=\"400\" height=\"266\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/maven-atmosphere-loss-400x266.png 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/11/maven-atmosphere-loss.png 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft exploring the upper atmosphere of Mars. \u003ccite>(Goddard Space Flight Center/NASA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>MAVEN has also found that the loss rate rises dramatically when solar wind activity increases, such as during solar storms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With this insight, we can now envision how Mars probably lost a major part of its atmosphere in the solar system’s younger days, billions of years ago, when the sun was more active and the solar wind more abrasive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though our understanding of exactly how Mars lost its water-supporting atmosphere won’t bring it back, it may help us better understand what Mars is all about today, including how we might go about looking for any remnants of its global paleoclimate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recently, NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-confirms-evidence-that-liquid-water-flows-on-today-s-mars\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">confirmed the presence of trickles of briny liquid water\u003c/a> seeping in certain spots on Mars today—a discovery that has scientists interested in finding signs of life on Mars very excited.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "It's The Great Halloween Asteroid, Charlie Bolden!",
"headTitle": "It’s The Great Halloween Asteroid, Charlie Bolden! | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>On Halloween, a frightfully large chunk of cosmic rock will pass close to the Earth—but don’t be afraid. This flying apparition poses no danger. It’s merely getting into the Halloween spirit, sneaking up in the dark and giving a good, hearty “Boo!” to the people of Earth… .\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rock is called asteroid 2015 TB145, and—discovered just three weeks ago—is fresh ink on the list of known “\u003ca href=\"http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Near-Earth Objects\u003c/a>” kept by the International Astronomical Union’s \u003ca href=\"http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/mpc.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Minor Planet Center\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This family encompasses asteroids in a range of sizes that come closer than 1.3 Astronomical Units from the sun. (1 Astronomical Unit is equal to the distance from the sun to Earth.) Asteroid 2015 TB145 was discovered on October 10th by the University of Hawaii’s \u003ca href=\"http://pan-starrs.ifa.hawaii.edu/public/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_328065\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 465px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/19025508-mmmain.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-328065\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/19025508-mmmain-400x275.jpg\" alt=\"On October 31, 2015 at 10:05 AM PDT, asteroid 2015 TB145 will pass within 300,000 miles of Earth, about 30% farther away than the Moon. \" width=\"465\" height=\"320\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/19025508-mmmain-400x275.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/19025508-mmmain.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 465px) 100vw, 465px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">On October 31, 2015 at 10:05 AM PDT, asteroid 2015 TB145 will pass within 300,000 miles of Earth, about 30% farther away than the Moon. \u003ccite>(NASA/JPL-Caltech)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>NASA has been \u003ca href=\"http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4745\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tracking this asteroid\u003c/a> with particular interest. Its size and close passage make it not only a potential Earth-impact threat to be monitored, but present an opportunity to learn more about small solar system objects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>2015 TB145 is estimated to be between 900 and 2,000 feet across. (For comparison, the Empire State Building in New York is about 1,200 feet tall.) It is one of the largest asteroids to pass close to Earth in many years, and nothing larger (that we know of) will come closer until August of 2027.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Big Cosmic Rocks Hit Often! (In Geologic Time)\u003cbr>\n\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nEach time a big space rock passes near us, it sparks a renewed interest in Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) and the probability of \u003ca href=\"http://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/natural-disasters/asteroid-hits-earth.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">major impacts with Earth\u003c/a>. Major impacts, occasionally globally devastating, have occurred in the past—and the so-called\u003ca href=\"http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> “Dinosaur Killer” asteroid impact\u003c/a> 65 million years ago wasn’t even the largest one. On average, an object the size of 2015 TB145 collides with the Earth every 150,000 to 200,000 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps the most recent collision with Earth by an object of similar size to 2015 TB145 took place in Argentina less than 100,000 years ago. The “\u003ca href=\"http://www.passc.net/EarthImpactDatabase/riocuarto.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rio Cuarto\u003c/a>” impact field is a complex of teardrop-shaped craters thought to have formed when an asteroid struck the Earth’s surface at a oblique, grazing angle, then broke into multiple chunks that gouged out 10 impact scars, the largest about three-quarters of a mile wide and three miles long.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_328066\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 338px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/pia03379annotated_browse-640x350.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-328066\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/pia03379annotated_browse-640x350-400x219.jpg\" alt='Evidence of the vast impact crater left behind by the \"Dinosaur Killer\" asteroid 65 million years ago was detected with radar and gravitational mapping at the northwestern end of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. ' width=\"338\" height=\"185\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/pia03379annotated_browse-640x350-400x219.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/pia03379annotated_browse-640x350.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 338px) 100vw, 338px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Evidence of the vast impact crater left behind by the “Dinosaur Killer” asteroid 65 million years ago was detected with radar and gravitational mapping at the northwestern end of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. \u003ccite>(NASA/JPL-Caltech)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>By observing and tracking NEOs, the Minor Planet Center maintains a body of data that can be used to calculate the probability of impacts in the future—at least for NEOs whose existence are known; there are many more NEOs believed to exist that have not yet been detected. Even 2015 TB145, though quite large, was unknown before October 10th.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fortunately, the orbit of this asteroid will carry it no closer than about 302,500 miles from Earth, or about 30% farther than the moon. Closest approach will take place at about 10:00 a.m. PDT on October 31st.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tracking the Rock\u003cbr>\n\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nAs it flies by us, NASA’s large radio telescope at the \u003ca href=\"http://www.gdscc.nasa.gov/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex\u003c/a> in the Mojave Desert will bounce radio waves off of the asteroid, which will echo back to us and be collected by radio telescopes in Green Bank, West Virginia and the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.naic.edu/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Arecibo Observatory\u003c/a> in Puerto Rico.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These measurements will give observers better estimates of the asteroid’s actual size and refined projections of its orbit around the sun, which, in turn, will improve our ability to predict if, and when, 2015 TB145 might one night return to spook us again—or potentially even hit us! Wouldn’t that be scary? Not this time, though.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the properties of 2015 TB145’s orbit around the sun—its inclination, or “tilt,” as well as its eccentricity (how stretched out versus circular it is)—suggest that it may not be an asteroid. It might be the remnant of an old comet: the largely rocky leftovers after most of a comet’s ices have evaporated. Scientists are still debating this possibility, and perhaps the data that will be collected during the flyby will help clarify its nature and origin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Come See It! Weather Permitting\u003cbr>\n\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nOn Friday night, October 30th, \u003ca href=\"http://www.chabotspace.org/observatories.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chabot Space & Science Center’s\u003c/a> observatory deck will remain open past its normal public viewing hours to offer visitors a chance to see asteroid 2015 TB145 through a large telescope—as always, weather permitting. The asteroid will rise high enough in the sky to be seen through Chabot’s telescopes by about 10:45 p.m., and Chabot’s observatory will remain open until 1:00 a.m.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in case you didn’t know, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/bolden_bio.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Charlie Bolden\u003c/a> is the administrator of NASA.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "On Halloween, a frightfully large chunk of cosmic rock will pass close to the Earth—but don't be afraid. ",
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"title": "It's The Great Halloween Asteroid, Charlie Bolden! | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On Halloween, a frightfully large chunk of cosmic rock will pass close to the Earth—but don’t be afraid. This flying apparition poses no danger. It’s merely getting into the Halloween spirit, sneaking up in the dark and giving a good, hearty “Boo!” to the people of Earth… .\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rock is called asteroid 2015 TB145, and—discovered just three weeks ago—is fresh ink on the list of known “\u003ca href=\"http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Near-Earth Objects\u003c/a>” kept by the International Astronomical Union’s \u003ca href=\"http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/mpc.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Minor Planet Center\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This family encompasses asteroids in a range of sizes that come closer than 1.3 Astronomical Units from the sun. (1 Astronomical Unit is equal to the distance from the sun to Earth.) Asteroid 2015 TB145 was discovered on October 10th by the University of Hawaii’s \u003ca href=\"http://pan-starrs.ifa.hawaii.edu/public/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_328065\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 465px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/19025508-mmmain.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-328065\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/19025508-mmmain-400x275.jpg\" alt=\"On October 31, 2015 at 10:05 AM PDT, asteroid 2015 TB145 will pass within 300,000 miles of Earth, about 30% farther away than the Moon. \" width=\"465\" height=\"320\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/19025508-mmmain-400x275.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/19025508-mmmain.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 465px) 100vw, 465px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">On October 31, 2015 at 10:05 AM PDT, asteroid 2015 TB145 will pass within 300,000 miles of Earth, about 30% farther away than the Moon. \u003ccite>(NASA/JPL-Caltech)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>NASA has been \u003ca href=\"http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4745\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tracking this asteroid\u003c/a> with particular interest. Its size and close passage make it not only a potential Earth-impact threat to be monitored, but present an opportunity to learn more about small solar system objects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>2015 TB145 is estimated to be between 900 and 2,000 feet across. (For comparison, the Empire State Building in New York is about 1,200 feet tall.) It is one of the largest asteroids to pass close to Earth in many years, and nothing larger (that we know of) will come closer until August of 2027.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Big Cosmic Rocks Hit Often! (In Geologic Time)\u003cbr>\n\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nEach time a big space rock passes near us, it sparks a renewed interest in Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) and the probability of \u003ca href=\"http://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/natural-disasters/asteroid-hits-earth.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">major impacts with Earth\u003c/a>. Major impacts, occasionally globally devastating, have occurred in the past—and the so-called\u003ca href=\"http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> “Dinosaur Killer” asteroid impact\u003c/a> 65 million years ago wasn’t even the largest one. On average, an object the size of 2015 TB145 collides with the Earth every 150,000 to 200,000 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps the most recent collision with Earth by an object of similar size to 2015 TB145 took place in Argentina less than 100,000 years ago. The “\u003ca href=\"http://www.passc.net/EarthImpactDatabase/riocuarto.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rio Cuarto\u003c/a>” impact field is a complex of teardrop-shaped craters thought to have formed when an asteroid struck the Earth’s surface at a oblique, grazing angle, then broke into multiple chunks that gouged out 10 impact scars, the largest about three-quarters of a mile wide and three miles long.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_328066\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 338px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/pia03379annotated_browse-640x350.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-328066\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/pia03379annotated_browse-640x350-400x219.jpg\" alt='Evidence of the vast impact crater left behind by the \"Dinosaur Killer\" asteroid 65 million years ago was detected with radar and gravitational mapping at the northwestern end of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. ' width=\"338\" height=\"185\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/pia03379annotated_browse-640x350-400x219.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/pia03379annotated_browse-640x350.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 338px) 100vw, 338px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Evidence of the vast impact crater left behind by the “Dinosaur Killer” asteroid 65 million years ago was detected with radar and gravitational mapping at the northwestern end of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. \u003ccite>(NASA/JPL-Caltech)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>By observing and tracking NEOs, the Minor Planet Center maintains a body of data that can be used to calculate the probability of impacts in the future—at least for NEOs whose existence are known; there are many more NEOs believed to exist that have not yet been detected. Even 2015 TB145, though quite large, was unknown before October 10th.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fortunately, the orbit of this asteroid will carry it no closer than about 302,500 miles from Earth, or about 30% farther than the moon. Closest approach will take place at about 10:00 a.m. PDT on October 31st.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tracking the Rock\u003cbr>\n\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nAs it flies by us, NASA’s large radio telescope at the \u003ca href=\"http://www.gdscc.nasa.gov/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex\u003c/a> in the Mojave Desert will bounce radio waves off of the asteroid, which will echo back to us and be collected by radio telescopes in Green Bank, West Virginia and the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.naic.edu/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Arecibo Observatory\u003c/a> in Puerto Rico.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These measurements will give observers better estimates of the asteroid’s actual size and refined projections of its orbit around the sun, which, in turn, will improve our ability to predict if, and when, 2015 TB145 might one night return to spook us again—or potentially even hit us! Wouldn’t that be scary? Not this time, though.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the properties of 2015 TB145’s orbit around the sun—its inclination, or “tilt,” as well as its eccentricity (how stretched out versus circular it is)—suggest that it may not be an asteroid. It might be the remnant of an old comet: the largely rocky leftovers after most of a comet’s ices have evaporated. Scientists are still debating this possibility, and perhaps the data that will be collected during the flyby will help clarify its nature and origin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Come See It! Weather Permitting\u003cbr>\n\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nOn Friday night, October 30th, \u003ca href=\"http://www.chabotspace.org/observatories.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chabot Space & Science Center’s\u003c/a> observatory deck will remain open past its normal public viewing hours to offer visitors a chance to see asteroid 2015 TB145 through a large telescope—as always, weather permitting. The asteroid will rise high enough in the sky to be seen through Chabot’s telescopes by about 10:45 p.m., and Chabot’s observatory will remain open until 1:00 a.m.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in case you didn’t know, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/bolden_bio.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Charlie Bolden\u003c/a> is the administrator of NASA.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "How Do We Stop Space Missions From Contaminating Mars?",
"headTitle": "How Do We Stop Space Missions From Contaminating Mars? | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>As soon as NASA announced finding \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/09/28/reports-nasa-to-announce-water-flows-on-mars-watch-live/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">evidence of liquid water\u003c/a> on Mars last month, speculation erupted that scientists may be able to answer the age-old question: Is there life on Mars?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Technically, we already know the answer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The answer is, ‘Yes,’ and it’s probably our own life,” says David J. Smith, a scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here on Earth, bacteria cover every surface we touch. And despite efforts to keep spacecraft as clean as possible, bacteria have likely hitchhiked all the way to Mars on NASA missions. Bacterial contamination was detected on the rovers that have driven across the red Martian desert.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Listen to the story:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nhttp://www.kqed.org/.stream/anon/radio/science/2015/10/20151019ScienceMarscontamination.mp3\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These microbial travelers pose a big problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If a robot or astronaut drills into the Mars surface, testing for life, the Earth bacteria could get in the way, contaminating those tests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So we want to make sure that it is, in fact, Martian life that we find, potentially, and not just Earth contamination,” Smith says. “That would be a major bummer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Extreme Microbes\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Mars environment has a kind of biohazard safeguard already built in: it’s not a comfortable environment for most Earth bacteria to live in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_307464\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 458px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/bpumilus_spores2.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-307464\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/bpumilus_spores2.jpg\" alt=\"Spores of the hearty bacterium Bacillus pumilus.\" width=\"458\" height=\"345\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Spores of the hearty bacterium Bacillus pumilus. \u003ccite>(NASA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s just not a nice place,” Smith says. “It’s extremely dry. Very cold.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And with little atmosphere surrounding it, the surface of the planet is blasted with ultraviolet radiation. Most Earth microbes couldn’t hack it in those conditions. But Smith studies one that may have what it takes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The bacteria is called Bacillus pumilus SAFR-032,” he says. “That’s a mouthful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To endure extreme conditions, it forms a spore, essentially hunkering down in a biological fortress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In a sense, it’s like hibernation for bacteria,” Smith says. When it finds food or water again, it wakes back up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This super-tough strain was found on a NASA spacecraft as it was being built inside a clean room, a place that’s meant to be mostly bacteria-free.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But how would the microbe fare if it got out on the Martian surface? Studying it there isn’t really possible. So, Smith is doing the next best thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bacteria Take Flight\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Twenty-three miles above Earth, at the very top of our atmosphere, it’s a lot like Mars: cold, dry and bombarded with UV radiation from the sun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In early October, Smith and his colleagues launched millions of Bacillus pumilus bacteria to that altitude on a special ride.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_307466\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 507px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/e-mist_2014_closed-large.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-307466\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/e-mist_2014_closed-large-1440x816.jpg\" alt=\"Bacteria inside four canisters on NASA's E-MIST mission are exposed to the stratosphere.\" width=\"507\" height=\"288\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/e-mist_2014_closed-large-1440x816.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/e-mist_2014_closed-large-400x227.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/e-mist_2014_closed-large-800x453.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/e-mist_2014_closed-large-1180x669.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/e-mist_2014_closed-large-960x544.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/e-mist_2014_closed-large.jpg 1615w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 507px) 100vw, 507px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bacteria inside four canisters on NASA’s E-MIST mission are exposed to conditions in the stratosphere. \u003ccite>(NASA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A massive helium balloon, almost 1,000 feet tall, carried the bacteria in a miniature laboratory underneath it. The project is called \u003ca href=\"http://www.nasa.gov/ames/research/space-biosciences/e-mist-2015\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">E-MIST\u003c/a> (Exposing Microorganisms in the Stratosphere).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>High above the Earth, the bacteria hung out for eight hours in the thin air and intense sunlight—conditions a lot like Mars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, the balloon popped, sending them back to Earth on a parachute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bacterial samples were then picked up in Texas. Smith will be looking to see if they’re still alive and growing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It wouldn’t surprise me,” he says. “The adaptability and persistence of bacteria is consistently impressive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Planetary Protector\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The more we learn about Earth life, the more we realize it’s actually likely that Earth organisms could live on Mars,” says Catharine Conley, NASA’s Planetary Protection Officer. Her job, in essence, is protecting Mars from us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just as soon the liquid water announcement was made, NASA’s planetary protection policies were called into play, something that’s governed by \u003ca href=\"http://planetaryprotection.nasa.gov/overview\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">international treaty\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://mars.nasa.gov/msl/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NASA’s Curiosity rover\u003c/a> is currently on Mars, driving around not far from the discovery site. But if the car-sized rover went to investigate, it would bring along Earth bacteria.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s possible that there’s some kind sub-surface aquifer on Mars that we didn’t expect,” Conley says. “And so it would be equally foolish to go and introduce Earth organisms.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_307471\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 554px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/e-mist1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-307471\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/e-mist1-800x633.jpg\" alt=\"A balloon is inflated with helium, to carry E-MIST and its bacteria 23 miles up to the stratosphere.\" width=\"554\" height=\"438\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/e-mist1-800x633.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/e-mist1-400x316.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/e-mist1-960x759.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/e-mist1.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 554px) 100vw, 554px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A balloon is inflated with helium, to carry E-MIST and its bacteria 23 miles up to the stratosphere. \u003ccite>(NASA/David J. Smith)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On NASA’s 1975 \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/viking\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Viking missions \u003c/a>to Mars, the spacecraft were sterilized to kill off bacterial life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The spacecraft were designed to tolerate heat treatment – being baked above the boiling point of water for several days,” Conley says. “It didn’t quite kill off all of the organisms on the surface of the spacecraft, but it killed off the majority of them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But heat treatment is extremely expensive. So, areas of Mars that were seen as more hospitable to life were protected as “special regions.” Missions landing outside those regions could have higher levels of microbial contamination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This was a compromise,” says Conley. “Because as we keep exploring Mars, we discover that more of Mars is actually ‘special.’ And so we actually should be more careful than we have been being.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Conley adds that understanding the resilience of Earth microbes will help inform NASA’s efforts to come. It may be that allowing spacecraft to “cure” on Mars, sitting in the intense UV light long enough, would be adequate to kill off even the hardiest Earth bacteria.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is the first time that humans as a species have had the chance to really explore carefully,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Humans don’t have a great track record of that. In the name of exploration, we’ve spread invasive species and diseases around our own planet. The hope is not to repeat that on other planets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We haven’t made any mistakes yet,” Conley says. “I really hope that we won’t do it while I’m in this job.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Protecting Mars will only get tougher once humans start walking on the red planet. NASA is planning to make that happen in about twenty years.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Earth bacteria are hardy little creatures. Could they hitch a ride to Mars and colonize a new planet?",
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"title": "How Do We Stop Space Missions From Contaminating Mars? | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>As soon as NASA announced finding \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/09/28/reports-nasa-to-announce-water-flows-on-mars-watch-live/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">evidence of liquid water\u003c/a> on Mars last month, speculation erupted that scientists may be able to answer the age-old question: Is there life on Mars?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Technically, we already know the answer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The answer is, ‘Yes,’ and it’s probably our own life,” says David J. Smith, a scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here on Earth, bacteria cover every surface we touch. And despite efforts to keep spacecraft as clean as possible, bacteria have likely hitchhiked all the way to Mars on NASA missions. Bacterial contamination was detected on the rovers that have driven across the red Martian desert.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Listen to the story:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These microbial travelers pose a big problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If a robot or astronaut drills into the Mars surface, testing for life, the Earth bacteria could get in the way, contaminating those tests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So we want to make sure that it is, in fact, Martian life that we find, potentially, and not just Earth contamination,” Smith says. “That would be a major bummer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Extreme Microbes\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Mars environment has a kind of biohazard safeguard already built in: it’s not a comfortable environment for most Earth bacteria to live in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_307464\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 458px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/bpumilus_spores2.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-307464\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/bpumilus_spores2.jpg\" alt=\"Spores of the hearty bacterium Bacillus pumilus.\" width=\"458\" height=\"345\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Spores of the hearty bacterium Bacillus pumilus. \u003ccite>(NASA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s just not a nice place,” Smith says. “It’s extremely dry. Very cold.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And with little atmosphere surrounding it, the surface of the planet is blasted with ultraviolet radiation. Most Earth microbes couldn’t hack it in those conditions. But Smith studies one that may have what it takes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The bacteria is called Bacillus pumilus SAFR-032,” he says. “That’s a mouthful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To endure extreme conditions, it forms a spore, essentially hunkering down in a biological fortress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In a sense, it’s like hibernation for bacteria,” Smith says. When it finds food or water again, it wakes back up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This super-tough strain was found on a NASA spacecraft as it was being built inside a clean room, a place that’s meant to be mostly bacteria-free.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But how would the microbe fare if it got out on the Martian surface? Studying it there isn’t really possible. So, Smith is doing the next best thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bacteria Take Flight\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Twenty-three miles above Earth, at the very top of our atmosphere, it’s a lot like Mars: cold, dry and bombarded with UV radiation from the sun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In early October, Smith and his colleagues launched millions of Bacillus pumilus bacteria to that altitude on a special ride.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_307466\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 507px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/e-mist_2014_closed-large.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-307466\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/e-mist_2014_closed-large-1440x816.jpg\" alt=\"Bacteria inside four canisters on NASA's E-MIST mission are exposed to the stratosphere.\" width=\"507\" height=\"288\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/e-mist_2014_closed-large-1440x816.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/e-mist_2014_closed-large-400x227.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/e-mist_2014_closed-large-800x453.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/e-mist_2014_closed-large-1180x669.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/e-mist_2014_closed-large-960x544.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/e-mist_2014_closed-large.jpg 1615w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 507px) 100vw, 507px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bacteria inside four canisters on NASA’s E-MIST mission are exposed to conditions in the stratosphere. \u003ccite>(NASA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A massive helium balloon, almost 1,000 feet tall, carried the bacteria in a miniature laboratory underneath it. The project is called \u003ca href=\"http://www.nasa.gov/ames/research/space-biosciences/e-mist-2015\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">E-MIST\u003c/a> (Exposing Microorganisms in the Stratosphere).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>High above the Earth, the bacteria hung out for eight hours in the thin air and intense sunlight—conditions a lot like Mars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, the balloon popped, sending them back to Earth on a parachute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bacterial samples were then picked up in Texas. Smith will be looking to see if they’re still alive and growing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It wouldn’t surprise me,” he says. “The adaptability and persistence of bacteria is consistently impressive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Planetary Protector\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The more we learn about Earth life, the more we realize it’s actually likely that Earth organisms could live on Mars,” says Catharine Conley, NASA’s Planetary Protection Officer. Her job, in essence, is protecting Mars from us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just as soon the liquid water announcement was made, NASA’s planetary protection policies were called into play, something that’s governed by \u003ca href=\"http://planetaryprotection.nasa.gov/overview\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">international treaty\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://mars.nasa.gov/msl/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NASA’s Curiosity rover\u003c/a> is currently on Mars, driving around not far from the discovery site. But if the car-sized rover went to investigate, it would bring along Earth bacteria.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s possible that there’s some kind sub-surface aquifer on Mars that we didn’t expect,” Conley says. “And so it would be equally foolish to go and introduce Earth organisms.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_307471\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 554px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/e-mist1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-307471\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/e-mist1-800x633.jpg\" alt=\"A balloon is inflated with helium, to carry E-MIST and its bacteria 23 miles up to the stratosphere.\" width=\"554\" height=\"438\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/e-mist1-800x633.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/e-mist1-400x316.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/e-mist1-960x759.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/e-mist1.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 554px) 100vw, 554px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A balloon is inflated with helium, to carry E-MIST and its bacteria 23 miles up to the stratosphere. \u003ccite>(NASA/David J. Smith)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On NASA’s 1975 \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/viking\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Viking missions \u003c/a>to Mars, the spacecraft were sterilized to kill off bacterial life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The spacecraft were designed to tolerate heat treatment – being baked above the boiling point of water for several days,” Conley says. “It didn’t quite kill off all of the organisms on the surface of the spacecraft, but it killed off the majority of them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But heat treatment is extremely expensive. So, areas of Mars that were seen as more hospitable to life were protected as “special regions.” Missions landing outside those regions could have higher levels of microbial contamination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This was a compromise,” says Conley. “Because as we keep exploring Mars, we discover that more of Mars is actually ‘special.’ And so we actually should be more careful than we have been being.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Conley adds that understanding the resilience of Earth microbes will help inform NASA’s efforts to come. It may be that allowing spacecraft to “cure” on Mars, sitting in the intense UV light long enough, would be adequate to kill off even the hardiest Earth bacteria.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is the first time that humans as a species have had the chance to really explore carefully,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Humans don’t have a great track record of that. In the name of exploration, we’ve spread invasive species and diseases around our own planet. The hope is not to repeat that on other planets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We haven’t made any mistakes yet,” Conley says. “I really hope that we won’t do it while I’m in this job.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Protecting Mars will only get tougher once humans start walking on the red planet. NASA is planning to make that happen in about twenty years.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Ancient Lake on Mars Tells a Story",
"headTitle": "Ancient Lake on Mars Tells a Story | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Recently, scientists using data from NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission confirmed something that has been suspected for some time: the floor of Mars’ Gale Crater and the foundations of the mound of sediments that sits within it—Mount Sharp—were long ago the bottom of a lake of water that may have been present for as long as 500 million years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rover Curiosity landed in Gale Crater, near the foot of Mount Sharp, three years ago. After prospecting the geology of the crater floor for almost two years, the robot began making its way up the lower slopes of the mountain, sampling the chemistry and morphology of its sedimentary rock layers and building a picture of the crater’s early—and now verifiably watery—history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mounting Signs That Water Flowed in the Past \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the last year Curiosity has encountered \u003ca href=\"http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4398\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">rock formations that suggest the past action of flowing water\u003c/a>: large-grain gravel deposits that indicate fast-flowing streams or rivers, and other formations that suggest locales where streams emptied into pools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_302004\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 483px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/Gale_Crater_3d1_H.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-302004\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/Gale_Crater_3d1_H-400x225.jpg\" alt=\"Three-dimensional model of Mars' Gale Crater, and the central mound of sediment named Mount Sharp, currently being explored by NASA's Curiosity rover. \" width=\"483\" height=\"272\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/Gale_Crater_3d1_H-400x225.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/Gale_Crater_3d1_H-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/Gale_Crater_3d1_H-1440x810.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/Gale_Crater_3d1_H.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/Gale_Crater_3d1_H-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/Gale_Crater_3d1_H-960x540.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 483px) 100vw, 483px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Three-dimensional model of Mars’ Gale Crater, and the central mound of sediment named Mount Sharp, currently being explored by NASA’s Curiosity rover. \u003ccite>(ESA/DLR/FU Berlin/G. Neukum)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>These signs of past flowing water sent mission scientists looking downstream, where common sense promised we might find a lake formation, an accumulation of fine-grained silts and muds built up over time at a lake bottom. Gale Crater, after all, was a deep impact basin, with no outlets through which water flowing into it might escape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that’s just what Curiosity has found, in the form of mudstone. One prospecting site along Curiosity’s path, called the “Kimberley” formation, shown in the picture at the top of this post, is a beautiful example of these mudstone layers, the telltale geological legacy of a long-enduring body of water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The story told by the lower level mudstone strata is that between 3.8 and 3.3 billion years ago the 90-mile-wide impact basin hosted a lake, either continuously or in repeating cycles of wet and dry climate. The water may have been supplied by the inflow of rivers and streams, or the runoff of melting snow from surrounding highlands, or a combination of these.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eventually, the crater basin filled in with deep layers of sediment, which were later sculpted by erosion to form the central mound of Mount Sharp, Curiosity’s current digging grounds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>When Did Mars Start to Dry Up?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Measurements of Mount Sharp’s higher slopes, whose layers represent more recent sedimentation, show no signs of past association with liquid water, and might be explained as wind-deposited material. This dramatic change tells us something we already knew: that the wet conditions of Mars’ youth eventually dried up. As Curiosity climbs toward these higher, historically drier layers, we may learn more about when and how Mars began to change into the world we know today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But perhaps Mars has not dried up completely… .\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Water On Mars Today?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The news of Gale Crater’s ancient lake bed followed closely \u003ca href=\"http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4722\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NASA’s recent announcement \u003c/a>confirming the action of liquid water on Mars at present. NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter detected hydrated mineral salts in transient dark streaks observed running down the inner slopes of low- and mid-latitude crater and canyon walls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_302005\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 434px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/mro-rsl-coprates_chasma.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-302005\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/mro-rsl-coprates_chasma-400x250.jpg\" alt=\"Recurring slope lineae (dark streaks) running down the slopes of the Martian canyon, Coprates Chasma. \" width=\"434\" height=\"271\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/mro-rsl-coprates_chasma-400x250.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/mro-rsl-coprates_chasma-800x500.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/mro-rsl-coprates_chasma-1440x900.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/mro-rsl-coprates_chasma-1180x738.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/mro-rsl-coprates_chasma-960x600.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/mro-rsl-coprates_chasma.jpg 1638w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 434px) 100vw, 434px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Recurring slope lineae (dark streaks) running down the slopes of the Martian canyon, Coprates Chasma. \u003ccite>(ASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>These streaks, called recurring slope lineae, have been observed from orbit over the past few years, appearing during the warm seasons in Mars’ northern and southern hemispheres, and disappearing in the cooler seasons. The spectroscopic data from the orbiter confirms what was suspected: that the dark streaks are most likely caused by flows of briny liquid water, on or just under the surface.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Could Curiosity’s Wheels Get Stuck In The Mud?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Could Curiosity’s wheels, now treading over the dry mudstones of Gale Crater’s paleo lake bed, ever encounter actual wet mud? Are there any recurring slope lineae in the vicinity that NASA could send the rover on a spin through?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists have been scrutinizing high-resolution imagery of the slopes around Gale Crater \u003ca href=\"http://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2015/pdf/2327.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">looking for activity\u003c/a>. So far, researchers have seen no strong candidates, although they have spotted transient darkenings that match some characteristics of the brine flows—the most promising of these only about 30 miles east of Curiosity’s present location.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Curiosity’s operators could, I suspect they probably would consider making a detour to examine slope lineae up close. Imagine what we might find… .\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But 30 miles is a long haul even for the capable Curiosity—even if the rover could traverse whatever terrain lies between it and a candidate site. Added to the challenge is that the briny streaks are found running down fairly steep slopes, and they may be inaccessible to this robot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So the investigation of the environment around these transitory water seeps is probably the subject of a future mission to Mars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, we can expect more fascinating reports from Curiosity as it climbs above the mudstone layers of Gale Crater’s ancient lakebed, and sleuths out what may have happened to a once much more Earth-like Mars.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Recently, scientists using data from NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission confirmed something that has been speculated on for some time: the floor of Gale Crater and the foundations of mound of sediments that sits within it—Mount Sharp—were long ago the bottom of a lake of water that may have been present for as long as 500 million years.",
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"description": "Recently, scientists using data from NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission confirmed something that has been speculated on for some time: the floor of Gale Crater and the foundations of mound of sediments that sits within it—Mount Sharp—were long ago the bottom of a lake of water that may have been present for as long as 500 million years.",
"title": "Ancient Lake on Mars Tells a Story | KQED",
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"headline": "Ancient Lake on Mars Tells a Story",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Recently, scientists using data from NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission confirmed something that has been suspected for some time: the floor of Mars’ Gale Crater and the foundations of the mound of sediments that sits within it—Mount Sharp—were long ago the bottom of a lake of water that may have been present for as long as 500 million years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rover Curiosity landed in Gale Crater, near the foot of Mount Sharp, three years ago. After prospecting the geology of the crater floor for almost two years, the robot began making its way up the lower slopes of the mountain, sampling the chemistry and morphology of its sedimentary rock layers and building a picture of the crater’s early—and now verifiably watery—history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mounting Signs That Water Flowed in the Past \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the last year Curiosity has encountered \u003ca href=\"http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4398\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">rock formations that suggest the past action of flowing water\u003c/a>: large-grain gravel deposits that indicate fast-flowing streams or rivers, and other formations that suggest locales where streams emptied into pools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_302004\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 483px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/Gale_Crater_3d1_H.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-302004\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/Gale_Crater_3d1_H-400x225.jpg\" alt=\"Three-dimensional model of Mars' Gale Crater, and the central mound of sediment named Mount Sharp, currently being explored by NASA's Curiosity rover. \" width=\"483\" height=\"272\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/Gale_Crater_3d1_H-400x225.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/Gale_Crater_3d1_H-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/Gale_Crater_3d1_H-1440x810.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/Gale_Crater_3d1_H.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/Gale_Crater_3d1_H-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/Gale_Crater_3d1_H-960x540.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 483px) 100vw, 483px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Three-dimensional model of Mars’ Gale Crater, and the central mound of sediment named Mount Sharp, currently being explored by NASA’s Curiosity rover. \u003ccite>(ESA/DLR/FU Berlin/G. Neukum)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>These signs of past flowing water sent mission scientists looking downstream, where common sense promised we might find a lake formation, an accumulation of fine-grained silts and muds built up over time at a lake bottom. Gale Crater, after all, was a deep impact basin, with no outlets through which water flowing into it might escape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that’s just what Curiosity has found, in the form of mudstone. One prospecting site along Curiosity’s path, called the “Kimberley” formation, shown in the picture at the top of this post, is a beautiful example of these mudstone layers, the telltale geological legacy of a long-enduring body of water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The story told by the lower level mudstone strata is that between 3.8 and 3.3 billion years ago the 90-mile-wide impact basin hosted a lake, either continuously or in repeating cycles of wet and dry climate. The water may have been supplied by the inflow of rivers and streams, or the runoff of melting snow from surrounding highlands, or a combination of these.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eventually, the crater basin filled in with deep layers of sediment, which were later sculpted by erosion to form the central mound of Mount Sharp, Curiosity’s current digging grounds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>When Did Mars Start to Dry Up?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Measurements of Mount Sharp’s higher slopes, whose layers represent more recent sedimentation, show no signs of past association with liquid water, and might be explained as wind-deposited material. This dramatic change tells us something we already knew: that the wet conditions of Mars’ youth eventually dried up. As Curiosity climbs toward these higher, historically drier layers, we may learn more about when and how Mars began to change into the world we know today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But perhaps Mars has not dried up completely… .\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Water On Mars Today?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The news of Gale Crater’s ancient lake bed followed closely \u003ca href=\"http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4722\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NASA’s recent announcement \u003c/a>confirming the action of liquid water on Mars at present. NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter detected hydrated mineral salts in transient dark streaks observed running down the inner slopes of low- and mid-latitude crater and canyon walls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_302005\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 434px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/mro-rsl-coprates_chasma.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-302005\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/mro-rsl-coprates_chasma-400x250.jpg\" alt=\"Recurring slope lineae (dark streaks) running down the slopes of the Martian canyon, Coprates Chasma. \" width=\"434\" height=\"271\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/mro-rsl-coprates_chasma-400x250.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/mro-rsl-coprates_chasma-800x500.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/mro-rsl-coprates_chasma-1440x900.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/mro-rsl-coprates_chasma-1180x738.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/mro-rsl-coprates_chasma-960x600.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/10/mro-rsl-coprates_chasma.jpg 1638w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 434px) 100vw, 434px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Recurring slope lineae (dark streaks) running down the slopes of the Martian canyon, Coprates Chasma. \u003ccite>(ASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>These streaks, called recurring slope lineae, have been observed from orbit over the past few years, appearing during the warm seasons in Mars’ northern and southern hemispheres, and disappearing in the cooler seasons. The spectroscopic data from the orbiter confirms what was suspected: that the dark streaks are most likely caused by flows of briny liquid water, on or just under the surface.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Could Curiosity’s Wheels Get Stuck In The Mud?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Could Curiosity’s wheels, now treading over the dry mudstones of Gale Crater’s paleo lake bed, ever encounter actual wet mud? Are there any recurring slope lineae in the vicinity that NASA could send the rover on a spin through?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists have been scrutinizing high-resolution imagery of the slopes around Gale Crater \u003ca href=\"http://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2015/pdf/2327.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">looking for activity\u003c/a>. So far, researchers have seen no strong candidates, although they have spotted transient darkenings that match some characteristics of the brine flows—the most promising of these only about 30 miles east of Curiosity’s present location.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Curiosity’s operators could, I suspect they probably would consider making a detour to examine slope lineae up close. Imagine what we might find… .\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But 30 miles is a long haul even for the capable Curiosity—even if the rover could traverse whatever terrain lies between it and a candidate site. Added to the challenge is that the briny streaks are found running down fairly steep slopes, and they may be inaccessible to this robot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So the investigation of the environment around these transitory water seeps is probably the subject of a future mission to Mars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, we can expect more fascinating reports from Curiosity as it climbs above the mudstone layers of Gale Crater’s ancient lakebed, and sleuths out what may have happened to a once much more Earth-like Mars.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "NASA Spacecraft Turns Pluto From Blurry Disk Into Highly Complex World",
"headTitle": "NASA Spacecraft Turns Pluto From Blurry Disk Into Highly Complex World | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>In July \u003ca href=\"http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NASA’s New Horizons\u003c/a> spacecraft flew within 7,700 miles of Pluto, a close encounter that lasted mere hours. In that short time, preliminary \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/images/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">images\u003c/a> sent back to Earth just after closest approach grabbed our attention and captured our imagination in profound ways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our vision of Pluto went from being a fuzzy, blurry disk to crisp and colorful vistas of what has turned out to be a \u003ca href=\"http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/pluto-s-majestic-mountains-frozen-plains-and-foggy-hazes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">highly complex and unique world\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the adventure of exploring Pluto and its system of moons was only beginning and continues to unfold even now, as New Horizons’ mass of flyby data is transmitted slowly back to Earth, where scientists will spend years analyzing it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Are Glaciers Flowing on Pluto?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A giant heart-shaped region, named Tombaugh Regio (in honor of Pluto’s discoverer, Clyde Tombaugh), presents \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/tr-pan.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">vast sheets of icy plains\u003c/a> that bear little or no evidence of impact craters, suggesting that its gleaming white surfaces are relatively young.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_281382\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/glacierflows.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-281382\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/glacierflows-400x280.jpg\" alt=\"Blue arrows indicate a region of accumulated ices, while red arrows outline a feature believed to be formed by glacier flow activity. \" width=\"400\" height=\"280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/glacierflows-400x280.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/glacierflows-800x560.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/glacierflows-1180x826.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/glacierflows-960x672.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/glacierflows.jpg 1301w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blue arrows indicate a region of accumulated ices, while red arrows outline a feature believed to be formed by glacier flow activity. \u003ccite>(NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Some areas of the smooth plains possess patterns \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/feature/new-horizons-discovers-flowing-ices-on-pluto\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reminiscent of glacier activity\u003c/a>, with masses of accumulated material apparently flowing between hill ranges to flood lower terrain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>New Horizons detected frozen nitrogen, carbon monoxide and methane in these plains of ice, which could help explain any active glacier flows there. While water ice in Pluto’s extremely cold temperatures should behave as solid rock does on Earth, these exotic ices may be able to flow in glacial “rivers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Towers of Ice Miles High?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_281384\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/sunsetmountains.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-281384\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/sunsetmountains-400x218.jpg\" alt=\"Pluto's ice mountains casting sunset shadows across the cold landscape.\" width=\"400\" height=\"218\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/sunsetmountains-400x218.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/sunsetmountains-800x437.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/sunsetmountains-1440x786.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/sunsetmountains-1180x644.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/sunsetmountains-960x524.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/sunsetmountains.jpg 1467w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pluto’s ice mountains casting sunset shadows across the cold landscape. \u003ccite>(NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Also found within Tombaugh Regio are two \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydU-YrG_INk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">significant ranges of mountains\u003c/a>, the highest peaks reaching over two miles into the sky. Their light coloration suggests that they may be composed largely of water ice. On Earth, the warmer climate and much stronger gravity prevent solid ice from rising so high. On Pluto, nature allows such possibilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anyone who has stood on the salty white playa at Badwater in Death Valley National Park and looked upward at the towering, snow-covered Panamint mountain range and its 11,050-foot \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/telescopepeak-gabriel_millos.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Telescope Peak\u003c/a> have a clear example of the dimensions of Pluto’s ice mountains. Throw in a bright moonlit night and you might be looking upon a scene very similar to a Plutonian day in the ice mountains. …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Smog? Fog?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://blogs.nasa.gov/pluto/2015/09/25/pluto-at-twilight/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pluto’s atmosphere\u003c/a> was found to be more extensive and complex than thought, and composed of nitrogen, carbon monoxide and methane. The fact that frozen forms of these chemicals have been found in Pluto’s ice plains points to a possible dynamic interaction between surface and atmosphere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_281389\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/crepuscularrays.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-281389\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/crepuscularrays-400x218.jpg\" alt='Shafts of sunlight pouring through gaps in mountains on Pluto shine through low-lying haze, or \"fog,\" in valleys and plains.' width=\"400\" height=\"218\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/crepuscularrays-400x218.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/crepuscularrays-800x437.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/crepuscularrays-960x524.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/crepuscularrays.jpg 1013w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shafts of sunlight pouring through gaps in mountains on Pluto shine through low-lying haze, or “fog,” in valleys and plains. \u003ccite>(NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Giving the impression of the skin of an onion, Pluto’s atmosphere is defined by \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/haze-layers.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">layers of haze\u003c/a>, the highest layer detected about 80 miles from Pluto’s surface. The haze is composed of hydrocarbon particulates, including methane, ethylene and acetylene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Low-lying shrouds of surface haze, or perhaps “fog,” have been seen hugging the ground in images side-lit by the sun’s twilight rays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Snake Skin?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A surface texture dubbed “\u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/feature/perplexing-pluto-new-snakeskin-image-and-more-from-new-horizons\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">snake skin\u003c/a>” is puzzling scientists. Composed of linear, rounded, bluish-gray ridges with a reddish filling between, the complex and so far unexplained terrain presents the appearance of reptilian skin, like an alligator or snake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_281390\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/snakeskin.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-281390\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/snakeskin-400x246.jpg\" alt='A bizarre and unexplained surface terrain on Pluto dubbed \"snake-skin.\"' width=\"400\" height=\"246\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/snakeskin-400x246.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/snakeskin.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A bizarre and unexplained surface terrain on Pluto dubbed “snake-skin.” \u003ccite>(NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Further analysis of New Horizons’ data in the months ahead may give us a better understanding of what forces have shaped this terrain, but for now Pluto’s “snake skin” is symbolic of the fact that we are still exploring, still learning and still discovering the beauty and wonder that is Pluto.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before New Horizons, artists depicted Pluto’s landscapes with rolling hills of ice, frosty plains and tiny moons set under brilliant stars—a palette of landforms and skyscapes that took into account our scant knowledge of this distant, cold and tiny dwarf planet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, envisioning the vistas we might behold if we could stand on Pluto’s surface has taken on an entirely new dimension. New Horizons is delivering to us knowledge of unearthly landscapes that we never dared to expect.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "In July NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew within 7,700 miles of Pluto. But the exploration is only beginning. ",
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"title": "NASA Spacecraft Turns Pluto From Blurry Disk Into Highly Complex World | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In July \u003ca href=\"http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NASA’s New Horizons\u003c/a> spacecraft flew within 7,700 miles of Pluto, a close encounter that lasted mere hours. In that short time, preliminary \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/images/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">images\u003c/a> sent back to Earth just after closest approach grabbed our attention and captured our imagination in profound ways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our vision of Pluto went from being a fuzzy, blurry disk to crisp and colorful vistas of what has turned out to be a \u003ca href=\"http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/pluto-s-majestic-mountains-frozen-plains-and-foggy-hazes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">highly complex and unique world\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the adventure of exploring Pluto and its system of moons was only beginning and continues to unfold even now, as New Horizons’ mass of flyby data is transmitted slowly back to Earth, where scientists will spend years analyzing it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Are Glaciers Flowing on Pluto?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A giant heart-shaped region, named Tombaugh Regio (in honor of Pluto’s discoverer, Clyde Tombaugh), presents \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/tr-pan.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">vast sheets of icy plains\u003c/a> that bear little or no evidence of impact craters, suggesting that its gleaming white surfaces are relatively young.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_281382\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/glacierflows.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-281382\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/glacierflows-400x280.jpg\" alt=\"Blue arrows indicate a region of accumulated ices, while red arrows outline a feature believed to be formed by glacier flow activity. \" width=\"400\" height=\"280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/glacierflows-400x280.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/glacierflows-800x560.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/glacierflows-1180x826.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/glacierflows-960x672.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/glacierflows.jpg 1301w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blue arrows indicate a region of accumulated ices, while red arrows outline a feature believed to be formed by glacier flow activity. \u003ccite>(NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Some areas of the smooth plains possess patterns \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/feature/new-horizons-discovers-flowing-ices-on-pluto\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reminiscent of glacier activity\u003c/a>, with masses of accumulated material apparently flowing between hill ranges to flood lower terrain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>New Horizons detected frozen nitrogen, carbon monoxide and methane in these plains of ice, which could help explain any active glacier flows there. While water ice in Pluto’s extremely cold temperatures should behave as solid rock does on Earth, these exotic ices may be able to flow in glacial “rivers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Towers of Ice Miles High?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_281384\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/sunsetmountains.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-281384\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/sunsetmountains-400x218.jpg\" alt=\"Pluto's ice mountains casting sunset shadows across the cold landscape.\" width=\"400\" height=\"218\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/sunsetmountains-400x218.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/sunsetmountains-800x437.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/sunsetmountains-1440x786.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/sunsetmountains-1180x644.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/sunsetmountains-960x524.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/sunsetmountains.jpg 1467w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pluto’s ice mountains casting sunset shadows across the cold landscape. \u003ccite>(NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Also found within Tombaugh Regio are two \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydU-YrG_INk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">significant ranges of mountains\u003c/a>, the highest peaks reaching over two miles into the sky. Their light coloration suggests that they may be composed largely of water ice. On Earth, the warmer climate and much stronger gravity prevent solid ice from rising so high. On Pluto, nature allows such possibilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anyone who has stood on the salty white playa at Badwater in Death Valley National Park and looked upward at the towering, snow-covered Panamint mountain range and its 11,050-foot \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/telescopepeak-gabriel_millos.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Telescope Peak\u003c/a> have a clear example of the dimensions of Pluto’s ice mountains. Throw in a bright moonlit night and you might be looking upon a scene very similar to a Plutonian day in the ice mountains. …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Smog? Fog?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://blogs.nasa.gov/pluto/2015/09/25/pluto-at-twilight/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pluto’s atmosphere\u003c/a> was found to be more extensive and complex than thought, and composed of nitrogen, carbon monoxide and methane. The fact that frozen forms of these chemicals have been found in Pluto’s ice plains points to a possible dynamic interaction between surface and atmosphere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_281389\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/crepuscularrays.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-281389\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/crepuscularrays-400x218.jpg\" alt='Shafts of sunlight pouring through gaps in mountains on Pluto shine through low-lying haze, or \"fog,\" in valleys and plains.' width=\"400\" height=\"218\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/crepuscularrays-400x218.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/crepuscularrays-800x437.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/crepuscularrays-960x524.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/crepuscularrays.jpg 1013w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shafts of sunlight pouring through gaps in mountains on Pluto shine through low-lying haze, or “fog,” in valleys and plains. \u003ccite>(NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Giving the impression of the skin of an onion, Pluto’s atmosphere is defined by \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/haze-layers.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">layers of haze\u003c/a>, the highest layer detected about 80 miles from Pluto’s surface. The haze is composed of hydrocarbon particulates, including methane, ethylene and acetylene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Low-lying shrouds of surface haze, or perhaps “fog,” have been seen hugging the ground in images side-lit by the sun’s twilight rays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Snake Skin?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A surface texture dubbed “\u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/feature/perplexing-pluto-new-snakeskin-image-and-more-from-new-horizons\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">snake skin\u003c/a>” is puzzling scientists. Composed of linear, rounded, bluish-gray ridges with a reddish filling between, the complex and so far unexplained terrain presents the appearance of reptilian skin, like an alligator or snake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_281390\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/snakeskin.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-281390\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/snakeskin-400x246.jpg\" alt='A bizarre and unexplained surface terrain on Pluto dubbed \"snake-skin.\"' width=\"400\" height=\"246\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/snakeskin-400x246.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/snakeskin.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A bizarre and unexplained surface terrain on Pluto dubbed “snake-skin.” \u003ccite>(NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Further analysis of New Horizons’ data in the months ahead may give us a better understanding of what forces have shaped this terrain, but for now Pluto’s “snake skin” is symbolic of the fact that we are still exploring, still learning and still discovering the beauty and wonder that is Pluto.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before New Horizons, artists depicted Pluto’s landscapes with rolling hills of ice, frosty plains and tiny moons set under brilliant stars—a palette of landforms and skyscapes that took into account our scant knowledge of this distant, cold and tiny dwarf planet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, envisioning the vistas we might behold if we could stand on Pluto’s surface has taken on an entirely new dimension. New Horizons is delivering to us knowledge of unearthly landscapes that we never dared to expect.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "The Best Supermoon Eclipse Videos",
"headTitle": "The Best Supermoon Eclipse Videos | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>The San Francisco Chronicle blares, “\u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Moon-eclipsed-Bay-Area-stunned-6533966.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bay Area Stunned\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or maybe you felt more like the effusive headline writer of \u003ca href=\"http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2015/09/24/slightly-unusual-lunar-eclipse-coming-to-bay-area\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">this article\u003c/a> last Thursday: “Slightly unusual lunar eclipse coming to Bay Area.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whatever the case, if you missed it, you can still watch a replay of \u003ca href=\"http://live.slooh.com/stadium/live/mega-harvest-moon-eclipse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Slooh.com’s webcast\u003c/a> of last night’s rare astronomical event, or \u003ca href=\"http://livestream.com/GriffithObservatoryTV/LunarEclipseSep2015\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">one from Griffith Observatory\u003c/a> in Los Angeles, featuring live piano accompaniment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http://livestream.com/accounts/813119/events/4334837/videos/100534010/player?autoPlay=false&height=360&mute=false&width=640\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And check out these time-lapse videos:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/D5ZGOGGdSg0\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEtBeVK0KrI\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FNJP8Nbg8k\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0TF1jk6XbI\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Time-lapse videos and webcast replays of Sunday evening's rare astronomical event.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The San Francisco Chronicle blares, “\u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Moon-eclipsed-Bay-Area-stunned-6533966.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bay Area Stunned\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or maybe you felt more like the effusive headline writer of \u003ca href=\"http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2015/09/24/slightly-unusual-lunar-eclipse-coming-to-bay-area\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">this article\u003c/a> last Thursday: “Slightly unusual lunar eclipse coming to Bay Area.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whatever the case, if you missed it, you can still watch a replay of \u003ca href=\"http://live.slooh.com/stadium/live/mega-harvest-moon-eclipse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Slooh.com’s webcast\u003c/a> of last night’s rare astronomical event, or \u003ca href=\"http://livestream.com/GriffithObservatoryTV/LunarEclipseSep2015\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">one from Griffith Observatory\u003c/a> in Los Angeles, featuring live piano accompaniment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http://livestream.com/accounts/813119/events/4334837/videos/100534010/player?autoPlay=false&height=360&mute=false&width=640\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And check out these time-lapse videos:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Data from NASA’s \u003ca href=\"http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mro/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mars Reconnaissance Orbite\u003c/a>r provides “the strongest evidence yet that liquid water flows intermittently on present-day Mars,” NASA announced on Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can watch the \u003ca href=\"http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mro/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1858\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">video replay\u003c/a> of the announcement here:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" src=\"http://www.ustream.tv/embed/recorded/74355422?html5ui=1\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" webkitallowfullscreen=\"true\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border: 0px none transparent;\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Photos from the Mars orbiter show dark streaks flowing down Martian slopes. The streaks appear in sunny spots or when the weather is warm, and they fade when the temperature drops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Water was suspected to be involved, but now scientists have confirmed its presence. The new analysis, \u003ca href=\"http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ngeo2546.html\">published in Nature Geoscience\u003c/a>, shows salts mixed with water when the streaks are darkest. The water disappears when the streaks lighten.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The following \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDb3UZPoTpc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">animation \u003c/a>“simulates a fly-around look at one of the places on Mars where dark streaks advance down slopes during warm seasons, possibly involving liquid water,” NASA says. “This site is within Hale Crater. The streaks are roughly the length of a football field.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=10&v=MDb3UZPoTpc\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t know where the water actually comes from. That’s the next puzzle,” said Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, at this morning’s announcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We haven’t seen rain on Mars because the surface pressure is way too low,” said John Grunsfeld, a physicist and former NASA astronaut. “But we have seen snow … so there is a water cycle.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More on the possible source of the water from \u003ca href=\"http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/moon-mars/news/a17498/there-is-water-flowing-on-mars-as-we-speak/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Popular Mechanics\u003c/a>:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Some of the hypotheses include an underground aquifer, accumulations of humidity, or possible seasonal melting, though there is a counter for each. (Like an aquifer extending into mountainous regions, possible lack of sufficient humidity, or lack of regional surface ices, respectively.) The team also is working under the idea that it could be a mix of all of these.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>An abundance of evidence exists that\u003ca href=\"http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/03/150305-mars-ocean-water-map-space-science/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> surface water flowed on Mars \u003c/a>billions of years ago. In 2008, NASA scientists confirmed the \u003ca href=\"http://www.space.com/5546-proof-water-ice-mars.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">existence of frozen water\u003c/a> on the planet. In 2010, the space agency announced it had\u003ca href=\"http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mer/news/mer20101028.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> found evidence of subsurface water\u003c/a>. In 2013, the Curiosity rover \u003ca href=\"http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/09/water-on-mars-a-brief-and-extremely-long-history/280066/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">found water in Mars’ soil\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As to the significance of the most recent discovery, Jim Green, director of planetary science at NASA Headquarters, said, “This is tremendously exciting. … Everywhere we find water, we find life.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alfred McEwen, principal investigator for the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) at the University of Arizona in Tucson, said it’s “very likely” that there is microbial life on the subsurface of Mars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_280860\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/mars2.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-280860\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/mars2-800x599.jpg\" alt=\"For several years, a satellite orbiting Mars has seen streaks flowing from Martian mountains during warm periods on the surface. Scientists have now confirmed that water is involved.\" width=\"800\" height=\"599\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/mars2.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/mars2-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">For several years, a satellite orbiting Mars has seen streaks flowing from Martian mountains during warm periods on the surface. Scientists have now confirmed that water is involved. \u003ccite>(NASA/JPL/University of Arizona)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Here is NASA’s complete press release on the latest discovery:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>New findings from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) provide the strongest evidence yet that liquid water flows intermittently on present-day Mars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Using an imaging spectrometer on MRO, researchers detected signatures of hydrated minerals on slopes where mysterious streaks are seen on the Red Planet. These darkish streaks appear to ebb and flow over time. They darken and appear to flow down steep slopes during warm seasons, and then fade in cooler seasons. They appear in several locations on Mars when temperatures are above minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 23 Celsius), and disappear at colder times.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our quest on Mars has been to ‘follow the water,’ in our search for life in the universe, and now we have convincing science that validates what we’ve long suspected,” said John Grunsfeld, astronaut and associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “This is a significant development, as it appears to confirm that water — albeit briny — is flowing today on the surface of Mars.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These downhill flows, known as recurring slope lineae (RSL), often have been described as possibly related to liquid water. The new findings of hydrated salts on the slopes point to what that relationship may be to these dark features. The hydrated salts would lower the freezing point of a liquid brine, just as salt on roads here on Earth causes ice and snow to melt more rapidly. Scientists say it’s likely a shallow subsurface flow, with enough water wicking to the surface to explain the darkening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We found the hydrated salts only when the seasonal features were widest, which suggests that either the dark streaks themselves or a process that forms them is the source of the hydration. In either case, the detection of hydrated salts on these slopes means that water plays a vital role in the formation of these streaks,” said Lujendra Ojha of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in Atlanta, lead author of a report on these findings published Sept. 28 by Nature Geoscience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ojha first noticed these puzzling features as a University of Arizona undergraduate student in 2010, using images from the MRO’s High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE). HiRISE observations now have documented RSL at dozens of sites on Mars. The new study pairs HiRISE observations with mineral mapping by MRO’s Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The spectrometer observations show signatures of hydrated salts at multiple RSL locations, but only when the dark features were relatively wide. When the researchers looked at the same locations and RSL weren’t as extensive, they detected no hydrated salt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ojha and his co-authors interpret the spectral signatures as caused by hydrated minerals called perchlorates. The hydrated salts most consistent with the chemical signatures are likely a mixture of magnesium perchlorate, magnesium chlorate and sodium perchlorate. Some perchlorates have been shown to keep liquids from freezing even when conditions are as cold as minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 70 Celsius). On Earth, naturally produced perchlorates are concentrated in deserts, and some types of perchlorates can be used as rocket propellant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perchlorates have previously been seen on Mars. NASA’s Phoenix lander and Curiosity rover both found them in the planet’s soil, and some scientists believe that the Viking missions in the 1970s measured signatures of these salts. However, this study of RSL detected perchlorates, now in hydrated form, in different areas than those explored by the landers. This also is the first time perchlorates have been identified from orbit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>MRO has been examining Mars since 2006 with its six science instruments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The ability of MRO to observe for multiple Mars years with a payload able to see the fine detail of these features has enabled findings such as these: first identifying the puzzling seasonal streaks and now making a big step towards explaining what they are,” said Rich Zurek, MRO project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Ojha, the new findings are more proof that the mysterious lines he first saw darkening Martian slopes five years ago are, indeed, present-day water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When most people talk about water on Mars, they’re usually talking about ancient water or frozen water,” he said. “Now we know there’s more to the story. This is the first spectral detection that unambiguously supports our liquid water-formation hypotheses for RSL.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The discovery is the latest of many breakthroughs by NASA’s Mars missions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It took multiple spacecraft over several years to solve this mystery, and now we know there is liquid water on the surface of this cold, desert planet,” said Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA’s Mars Exploration Program at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. “It seems that the more we study Mars, the more we learn how life could be supported and where there are resources to support life in the future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are eight co-authors of the Nature Geoscience paper, including Mary Beth Wilhelm at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California and Georgia Tech; CRISM Principal Investigator Scott Murchie of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland; and HiRISE Principal Investigator Alfred McEwen of the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in Tucson, Arizona. Others are at Georgia Tech, the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, and Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique in Nantes, France.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, a division of the California Institute of Technology, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin built the orbiter and collaborates with JPL to operate it.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks, NPR and Associated Press contributed to this post.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Data from NASA’s \u003ca href=\"http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mro/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mars Reconnaissance Orbite\u003c/a>r provides “the strongest evidence yet that liquid water flows intermittently on present-day Mars,” NASA announced on Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can watch the \u003ca href=\"http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mro/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1858\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">video replay\u003c/a> of the announcement here:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" src=\"http://www.ustream.tv/embed/recorded/74355422?html5ui=1\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" webkitallowfullscreen=\"true\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border: 0px none transparent;\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Photos from the Mars orbiter show dark streaks flowing down Martian slopes. The streaks appear in sunny spots or when the weather is warm, and they fade when the temperature drops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Water was suspected to be involved, but now scientists have confirmed its presence. The new analysis, \u003ca href=\"http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ngeo2546.html\">published in Nature Geoscience\u003c/a>, shows salts mixed with water when the streaks are darkest. The water disappears when the streaks lighten.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The following \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDb3UZPoTpc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">animation \u003c/a>“simulates a fly-around look at one of the places on Mars where dark streaks advance down slopes during warm seasons, possibly involving liquid water,” NASA says. “This site is within Hale Crater. The streaks are roughly the length of a football field.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/MDb3UZPoTpc'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/MDb3UZPoTpc'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>“We don’t know where the water actually comes from. That’s the next puzzle,” said Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, at this morning’s announcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We haven’t seen rain on Mars because the surface pressure is way too low,” said John Grunsfeld, a physicist and former NASA astronaut. “But we have seen snow … so there is a water cycle.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More on the possible source of the water from \u003ca href=\"http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/moon-mars/news/a17498/there-is-water-flowing-on-mars-as-we-speak/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Popular Mechanics\u003c/a>:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Some of the hypotheses include an underground aquifer, accumulations of humidity, or possible seasonal melting, though there is a counter for each. (Like an aquifer extending into mountainous regions, possible lack of sufficient humidity, or lack of regional surface ices, respectively.) The team also is working under the idea that it could be a mix of all of these.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>An abundance of evidence exists that\u003ca href=\"http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/03/150305-mars-ocean-water-map-space-science/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> surface water flowed on Mars \u003c/a>billions of years ago. In 2008, NASA scientists confirmed the \u003ca href=\"http://www.space.com/5546-proof-water-ice-mars.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">existence of frozen water\u003c/a> on the planet. In 2010, the space agency announced it had\u003ca href=\"http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mer/news/mer20101028.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> found evidence of subsurface water\u003c/a>. In 2013, the Curiosity rover \u003ca href=\"http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/09/water-on-mars-a-brief-and-extremely-long-history/280066/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">found water in Mars’ soil\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As to the significance of the most recent discovery, Jim Green, director of planetary science at NASA Headquarters, said, “This is tremendously exciting. … Everywhere we find water, we find life.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alfred McEwen, principal investigator for the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) at the University of Arizona in Tucson, said it’s “very likely” that there is microbial life on the subsurface of Mars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_280860\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/mars2.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-280860\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/mars2-800x599.jpg\" alt=\"For several years, a satellite orbiting Mars has seen streaks flowing from Martian mountains during warm periods on the surface. Scientists have now confirmed that water is involved.\" width=\"800\" height=\"599\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/mars2.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2015/09/mars2-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">For several years, a satellite orbiting Mars has seen streaks flowing from Martian mountains during warm periods on the surface. Scientists have now confirmed that water is involved. \u003ccite>(NASA/JPL/University of Arizona)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Here is NASA’s complete press release on the latest discovery:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>New findings from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) provide the strongest evidence yet that liquid water flows intermittently on present-day Mars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Using an imaging spectrometer on MRO, researchers detected signatures of hydrated minerals on slopes where mysterious streaks are seen on the Red Planet. These darkish streaks appear to ebb and flow over time. They darken and appear to flow down steep slopes during warm seasons, and then fade in cooler seasons. They appear in several locations on Mars when temperatures are above minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 23 Celsius), and disappear at colder times.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our quest on Mars has been to ‘follow the water,’ in our search for life in the universe, and now we have convincing science that validates what we’ve long suspected,” said John Grunsfeld, astronaut and associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “This is a significant development, as it appears to confirm that water — albeit briny — is flowing today on the surface of Mars.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These downhill flows, known as recurring slope lineae (RSL), often have been described as possibly related to liquid water. The new findings of hydrated salts on the slopes point to what that relationship may be to these dark features. The hydrated salts would lower the freezing point of a liquid brine, just as salt on roads here on Earth causes ice and snow to melt more rapidly. Scientists say it’s likely a shallow subsurface flow, with enough water wicking to the surface to explain the darkening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We found the hydrated salts only when the seasonal features were widest, which suggests that either the dark streaks themselves or a process that forms them is the source of the hydration. In either case, the detection of hydrated salts on these slopes means that water plays a vital role in the formation of these streaks,” said Lujendra Ojha of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in Atlanta, lead author of a report on these findings published Sept. 28 by Nature Geoscience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ojha first noticed these puzzling features as a University of Arizona undergraduate student in 2010, using images from the MRO’s High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE). HiRISE observations now have documented RSL at dozens of sites on Mars. The new study pairs HiRISE observations with mineral mapping by MRO’s Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The spectrometer observations show signatures of hydrated salts at multiple RSL locations, but only when the dark features were relatively wide. When the researchers looked at the same locations and RSL weren’t as extensive, they detected no hydrated salt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ojha and his co-authors interpret the spectral signatures as caused by hydrated minerals called perchlorates. The hydrated salts most consistent with the chemical signatures are likely a mixture of magnesium perchlorate, magnesium chlorate and sodium perchlorate. Some perchlorates have been shown to keep liquids from freezing even when conditions are as cold as minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 70 Celsius). On Earth, naturally produced perchlorates are concentrated in deserts, and some types of perchlorates can be used as rocket propellant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perchlorates have previously been seen on Mars. NASA’s Phoenix lander and Curiosity rover both found them in the planet’s soil, and some scientists believe that the Viking missions in the 1970s measured signatures of these salts. However, this study of RSL detected perchlorates, now in hydrated form, in different areas than those explored by the landers. This also is the first time perchlorates have been identified from orbit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>MRO has been examining Mars since 2006 with its six science instruments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The ability of MRO to observe for multiple Mars years with a payload able to see the fine detail of these features has enabled findings such as these: first identifying the puzzling seasonal streaks and now making a big step towards explaining what they are,” said Rich Zurek, MRO project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Ojha, the new findings are more proof that the mysterious lines he first saw darkening Martian slopes five years ago are, indeed, present-day water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When most people talk about water on Mars, they’re usually talking about ancient water or frozen water,” he said. “Now we know there’s more to the story. This is the first spectral detection that unambiguously supports our liquid water-formation hypotheses for RSL.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The discovery is the latest of many breakthroughs by NASA’s Mars missions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It took multiple spacecraft over several years to solve this mystery, and now we know there is liquid water on the surface of this cold, desert planet,” said Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA’s Mars Exploration Program at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. “It seems that the more we study Mars, the more we learn how life could be supported and where there are resources to support life in the future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are eight co-authors of the Nature Geoscience paper, including Mary Beth Wilhelm at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California and Georgia Tech; CRISM Principal Investigator Scott Murchie of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland; and HiRISE Principal Investigator Alfred McEwen of the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in Tucson, Arizona. Others are at Georgia Tech, the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, and Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique in Nantes, France.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, a division of the California Institute of Technology, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin built the orbiter and collaborates with JPL to operate it.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks, NPR and Associated Press contributed to this post.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Where, When and How to See the Supermoon Lunar Eclipse in the San Francisco Bay Area",
"headTitle": "Where, When and How to See the Supermoon Lunar Eclipse in the San Francisco Bay Area | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update\u003c/strong>: \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/09/28/the-best-supermoon-eclipse-videos/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cstrong>See the best supermoon eclipse videos here\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Original post\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca name=\"what\">\u003c/a>You’ve been waiting for this since 1982.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No, not the re-release of “Rocky III.” We’re talking about the last time a particular astronomical two-fer occurred: a simultaneous supermoon and lunar eclipse. On Sunday night, that concurrence will take place again, for the last time until 2033.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What’s happening? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright\">\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#what\">What’s happening\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#when\">When to see it\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#where\">Where to see it\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#how\">How to see it\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#see\">What you will see\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#local\">Local events\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#online\">Where to watch online\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Both a full moon and lunar eclipse occur when the Earth is between the moon and the sun. In the case of the lunar eclipse, there’s the additional factor that the moon, Earth and sun are precisely lined up, so that the moon passes through the Earth’s shadow. A lunar eclipse always occurs during a full moon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lunar perigee means the moon’s orbit will take it as close to the Earth during this \u003ca href=\"http://www.universetoday.com/20053/lunar-month/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lunar month\u003c/a> as it’s going to get (we hope) — a mere 222,000 miles away. When a full moon coincides with lunar perigee, it’s called a supermoon, because the moon should appear slightly larger than average.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or maybe not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca name=\"when\">\u003c/a>“Supermoon is not an astronomical term, but was invented by the media to make things more exciting sounding,” says Andrew Fraknoi, chair of the astronomy department at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, and one of our go-to guys on things astronomical. “The average person can’t really tell the difference between a supermoon and an ordinary moon, so it’s not quite as super a phenomenon as the term makes it sound.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All right, sir. But throw in that eclipse — now you’re talking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>When can you see it?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca name=\"where\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fraknoi recommends that you start watching when the moon rises, around 7 p.m. Pacific Time. The total eclipse starts at 7:11 p.m. and ends at 8:23 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca name=\"where\">\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>Where is the best location to see it?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Look to the east! The moon will appear low on the eastern horizon as it rises. Which could be a problem for some would-be observers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Many of us don’t have a view of the eastern horizon — a building or a hill might be in the way,” Fraknoi notes. But by the time the eclipse ends, he says, the moon will have risen considerably in the sky, and it will be be easier to glimpse. If you want to see the entire eclipse, though, you should get to higher ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca name=\"how\">\u003c/a>Fraknoi also recommends checking the weather in advance, so you can get to a spot without clouds or fog should those be in the forecast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re in San Francisco, especially, the further east, south or north you go, the more likely you are to hit clear skies, he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How can you see it?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca name=\"see\">\u003c/a>Your own peepers will do the trick — you don’t need a telescope or binoculars. Unless you’re a werewolf, there’s no danger in looking at the moon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What will you see?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the Earth’s shadow is cast on the moon, it will slowly darken, until the moon is completely covered: a total eclipse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca name=\"local\">\u003c/a>“The full moon doesn’t go completely dark,” says Fraknoi. “It will become a little bit reddish. That’s because the earth has an atmosphere and the atmosphere acts a bit like a lens, and so the red colors, particularly from the sunlight, will be bent inward toward the moon.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Where can I go to watch this with other people, in case the \u003ca href=\"http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/01/living/blood-moon-biblical-prophecy-feat/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">world is coming to an end\u003c/a>?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As far as we know, the world is not coming to an end — at least this Sept. 27. The dinosaurs notwithstanding, an association between astronomical phenomena and ill-fated earthly events has yet to be proven. (Though the simultaneous super moon-lunar eclipse year of 1928 did see the election of Herbert Hoover.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevertheless, you can still have some communal fun at the following:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://14884.blackbaudhosting.com/14884/tickets?tab=2&txobjid=0f14d907-2734-4a8b-a372-f627ce5f3e17\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chabot Space & Science Center\u003c/a> – 7 to 9:30 pm; $10. Children two and under free. After 7 p.m. tickets available at the door only.\u003cbr>\n10000 Skyline Blvd, Oakland, CA 94619\u003cbr>\n(510) 336-7300\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Chabot Space & Science Center’s observatory deck will host a view to a rare and beautiful astronomical event, a Total Lunar Eclipse. Enjoy the spectacle in good company as the fully eclipsed Moon rises above the tree line of the East Bay Hills.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.collegeofsanmateo.edu/calendar/events/index.php?com=detail&eID=15595\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">College of San Mateo\u003c/a>, 6:30-9:30 pm, Free\u003cbr>\nCollege Center Terrace and Building 36 Observatory\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>In addition to the telescopes in our rooftop observatory, a telescope will be set up on theCollege Center Terrace from 6:30~7:30 pm, and will be staffed by our astronomy faculty, for viewing and photographing the moon as it rises above the horizon. Also, courtesy of the CSM Astronomy Department, astronomy student volunteers will have binoculars available to view the supermoon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dress warmly and remember that this event is weather dependent. So, before coming to the campus, check our website for any changes in the venue due to weather conditions.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003ca name=\"online\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.sfaa-astronomy.org/total-lunar-eclipse-viewing-party-on-september-27/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">San Francisco Amateur Astronomers\u003c/a>, 6 to 9 p.m., Free\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/maps/place/Pier+15/@37.8015286,-122.397422,17z/data=!3m2!4b1!5s0x8085805ec2002869:0x40df3504d4f6cf20!4m2!3m1!1s0x8085805f2089dcb1:0xa7b58658c772d7c6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pier 15, San Francisco\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Join the SFAA for a public viewing party on Sunday evening September 27th of the Harvest Moon Lunar Eclipse. We will gather at Pier 15 along the Embarcadero in San Francisco with a spectacular view of the San Francisco Bay and the magical sight of the Harvest Moon rising in the east in total eclipse. Plan to arrive between 6:00 and 7:00 pm. Subject to cancellation if there is cloudy or inclement weather.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What if I can’t get out or just prefer to experience the majesty of this event the way I do everything – on the Web?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fear not. You can watch online:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://live.slooh.com/stadium/live/mega-harvest-moon-eclipse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Slooh.com webcast\u003c/a> – begins 5 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 27\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://livestream.com/GriffithObservatoryTV\">Griffith Observatory live stream\u003c/a> – begins 6:30 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 27\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>The University of Arizona’s Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter will also be \u003ca href=\"http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/css/eclipse/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">posting images\u003c/a> as they come in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s a nice infographic of Sunday’s event from Space.com:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.space.com/11161-supermoon-full-moon-science-infographic.html\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://i.space.com/images/i/000/008/682/i02/supermoon-lunar-perigee-huge-150914b-02.jpg?1442258161\" alt=\"Learn what makes a big full moon a true 'supermoon' in this SPACE.com infographic.\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update\u003c/strong>: \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/09/28/the-best-supermoon-eclipse-videos/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cstrong>See the best supermoon eclipse videos here\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Original post\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca name=\"what\">\u003c/a>You’ve been waiting for this since 1982.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No, not the re-release of “Rocky III.” We’re talking about the last time a particular astronomical two-fer occurred: a simultaneous supermoon and lunar eclipse. On Sunday night, that concurrence will take place again, for the last time until 2033.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What’s happening? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright\">\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#what\">What’s happening\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#when\">When to see it\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#where\">Where to see it\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#how\">How to see it\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#see\">What you will see\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#local\">Local events\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#online\">Where to watch online\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Both a full moon and lunar eclipse occur when the Earth is between the moon and the sun. In the case of the lunar eclipse, there’s the additional factor that the moon, Earth and sun are precisely lined up, so that the moon passes through the Earth’s shadow. A lunar eclipse always occurs during a full moon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lunar perigee means the moon’s orbit will take it as close to the Earth during this \u003ca href=\"http://www.universetoday.com/20053/lunar-month/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lunar month\u003c/a> as it’s going to get (we hope) — a mere 222,000 miles away. When a full moon coincides with lunar perigee, it’s called a supermoon, because the moon should appear slightly larger than average.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or maybe not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca name=\"when\">\u003c/a>“Supermoon is not an astronomical term, but was invented by the media to make things more exciting sounding,” says Andrew Fraknoi, chair of the astronomy department at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, and one of our go-to guys on things astronomical. “The average person can’t really tell the difference between a supermoon and an ordinary moon, so it’s not quite as super a phenomenon as the term makes it sound.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All right, sir. But throw in that eclipse — now you’re talking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>When can you see it?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca name=\"where\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fraknoi recommends that you start watching when the moon rises, around 7 p.m. Pacific Time. The total eclipse starts at 7:11 p.m. and ends at 8:23 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca name=\"where\">\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>Where is the best location to see it?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Look to the east! The moon will appear low on the eastern horizon as it rises. Which could be a problem for some would-be observers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Many of us don’t have a view of the eastern horizon — a building or a hill might be in the way,” Fraknoi notes. But by the time the eclipse ends, he says, the moon will have risen considerably in the sky, and it will be be easier to glimpse. If you want to see the entire eclipse, though, you should get to higher ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca name=\"how\">\u003c/a>Fraknoi also recommends checking the weather in advance, so you can get to a spot without clouds or fog should those be in the forecast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re in San Francisco, especially, the further east, south or north you go, the more likely you are to hit clear skies, he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How can you see it?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca name=\"see\">\u003c/a>Your own peepers will do the trick — you don’t need a telescope or binoculars. Unless you’re a werewolf, there’s no danger in looking at the moon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What will you see?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the Earth’s shadow is cast on the moon, it will slowly darken, until the moon is completely covered: a total eclipse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca name=\"local\">\u003c/a>“The full moon doesn’t go completely dark,” says Fraknoi. “It will become a little bit reddish. That’s because the earth has an atmosphere and the atmosphere acts a bit like a lens, and so the red colors, particularly from the sunlight, will be bent inward toward the moon.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Where can I go to watch this with other people, in case the \u003ca href=\"http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/01/living/blood-moon-biblical-prophecy-feat/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">world is coming to an end\u003c/a>?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As far as we know, the world is not coming to an end — at least this Sept. 27. The dinosaurs notwithstanding, an association between astronomical phenomena and ill-fated earthly events has yet to be proven. (Though the simultaneous super moon-lunar eclipse year of 1928 did see the election of Herbert Hoover.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevertheless, you can still have some communal fun at the following:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://14884.blackbaudhosting.com/14884/tickets?tab=2&txobjid=0f14d907-2734-4a8b-a372-f627ce5f3e17\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chabot Space & Science Center\u003c/a> – 7 to 9:30 pm; $10. Children two and under free. After 7 p.m. tickets available at the door only.\u003cbr>\n10000 Skyline Blvd, Oakland, CA 94619\u003cbr>\n(510) 336-7300\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Chabot Space & Science Center’s observatory deck will host a view to a rare and beautiful astronomical event, a Total Lunar Eclipse. Enjoy the spectacle in good company as the fully eclipsed Moon rises above the tree line of the East Bay Hills.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.collegeofsanmateo.edu/calendar/events/index.php?com=detail&eID=15595\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">College of San Mateo\u003c/a>, 6:30-9:30 pm, Free\u003cbr>\nCollege Center Terrace and Building 36 Observatory\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>In addition to the telescopes in our rooftop observatory, a telescope will be set up on theCollege Center Terrace from 6:30~7:30 pm, and will be staffed by our astronomy faculty, for viewing and photographing the moon as it rises above the horizon. Also, courtesy of the CSM Astronomy Department, astronomy student volunteers will have binoculars available to view the supermoon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dress warmly and remember that this event is weather dependent. So, before coming to the campus, check our website for any changes in the venue due to weather conditions.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003ca name=\"online\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.sfaa-astronomy.org/total-lunar-eclipse-viewing-party-on-september-27/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">San Francisco Amateur Astronomers\u003c/a>, 6 to 9 p.m., Free\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/maps/place/Pier+15/@37.8015286,-122.397422,17z/data=!3m2!4b1!5s0x8085805ec2002869:0x40df3504d4f6cf20!4m2!3m1!1s0x8085805f2089dcb1:0xa7b58658c772d7c6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pier 15, San Francisco\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Join the SFAA for a public viewing party on Sunday evening September 27th of the Harvest Moon Lunar Eclipse. We will gather at Pier 15 along the Embarcadero in San Francisco with a spectacular view of the San Francisco Bay and the magical sight of the Harvest Moon rising in the east in total eclipse. Plan to arrive between 6:00 and 7:00 pm. Subject to cancellation if there is cloudy or inclement weather.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What if I can’t get out or just prefer to experience the majesty of this event the way I do everything – on the Web?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fear not. You can watch online:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://live.slooh.com/stadium/live/mega-harvest-moon-eclipse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Slooh.com webcast\u003c/a> – begins 5 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 27\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://livestream.com/GriffithObservatoryTV\">Griffith Observatory live stream\u003c/a> – begins 6:30 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 27\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>The University of Arizona’s Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter will also be \u003ca href=\"http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/css/eclipse/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">posting images\u003c/a> as they come in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s a nice infographic of Sunday’s event from Space.com:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.space.com/11161-supermoon-full-moon-science-infographic.html\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://i.space.com/images/i/000/008/682/i02/supermoon-lunar-perigee-huge-150914b-02.jpg?1442258161\" alt=\"Learn what makes a big full moon a true 'supermoon' in this SPACE.com infographic.\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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